


A Delightful Abattoir

by AltUniverseWash



Series: Of Wars, both Quiet and Loud [1]
Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Abuse, Adult Trolls (Homestuck), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternia, Alternia-Focused, Alternian Empire, Alternian Fleet, Alternian Revolution, Ancestors (Homestuck), Blood and Violence, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Delightful Abattoir cinematic universe, F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Gun Violence, Hiveswap: Friendsim, Imperial Drones (Homestuck), Imperialism, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Marvus Xoloto's Ancestor, Mass Death, Mild Sexual Content, Military Training, Multi, Non-Explicit Sex, Other, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Post-Ascension, Quadrant Vacillation, Rebellion, Relationship(s), Revolution, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Tension, Soldiers, Trials, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 52
Words: 124,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28111980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AltUniverseWash/pseuds/AltUniverseWash
Summary: At ten sweeps, the young adults of Alternia prepare to take their place among the stars as loyal servants of the great Alternian Empire. Whether they want to or not, they will fight for the promised glory of conquest... and die alone on worlds that hang thousands of light-sweeps from their home.Throughout the Empire, there are rumors of a slowly rising tide - a flood of the disaffected, the downtrodden, and the oppressed. They have been biding their time in secret - taking hold in the low places where the Empire doesn't care to look. Silently preparing, and training, and planning... and yet, not all is as it first appears.Join an ensemble cast of familiar characters in the story of the last great Alternian rebellion.
Relationships: ?????? Elwurd & Chixie Roixmr, ?????? Elwurd/Daraya Jonjet, ?????? Elwurd/Skylla Koriga, Azdaja Knelax/Konyyl Okimaw, Chixie and Zebrah are technically together but it is an abusive relationship, Daraya Jonjet/Lynera Skalbi, Lynera Skalbi/Bronya Ursama, Polypa Goezee & Tegiri Kalbur, Skylla Koriga & Konyyl Okimaw, Tagora Gorjek/Galekh Xigisi, Tyzias Entykk/Stelsa Sezyat, Zebruh Codakk/Chixie Roixmr
Series: Of Wars, both Quiet and Loud [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115978
Comments: 132
Kudos: 53





	1. Whisper in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> This story carries a general TW for the material in the tags, especially violence (including the depiction of abusive relationships). For chapters with specific TWs, warnings will be provided at the start of the chapter.
> 
> (also, since it's come up a couple times: an "abattoir" is a slaughterhouse)

the 1st night...

The Third Sweep of Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty Trizza Tethis

South Alternian Regional Training Command - 0320 local time (1820 AUT)

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 0320 AST (1820 AUT)

Skylla

Konyyyyl?   
Are yyou up?   
Please tell me yyou’re up.

Konyyl

You have gotta be fuckin kidding me   
How in the hell did you get this NUMBER?!   
I swear to Empress if this is a blackrom thing I will fucking KILL YOU

Skylla

What? Oh heck no!   
Empress alive what the heck’s in yyour thinkpan?!

Konyyl

Then why the fuck are you doing this at THREE IN THE MORNING?!

Skylla

I didn’t know who else to talk to.   
YYou’re the onlyy other person I know who got slapped with ground dutyy.   
Did yy’all go off-planet yyet?

Konyyl

Wait is this a goddamn pale crush thing?   
Are you for fucking real right now?   
I don’t have time for this   
We have to be up in an HOUR AND A HALF

Skylla

I know that. So do I.   
And no, this is not a pale thing Empress fucking dammit.   
‘scuse myy mouth and all that.

Konyyl

Then why are you MESSAGING ME?!

Skylla

Because I’m fucking scared and I don’t know who else to talk to, okayy?!   
Because I wasn’t readyy for this.   
Because I’m fucking ten sweeps and I thought this would be exciting and I thought this would be an adventure and...

Skylla Koriga put down the palmhusk she was typing on — and the white-hot tears that she’d been struggling so hard to keep back started to burn out of her eyes and drip slowly down toward the utility-grade cot she’d been assigned in the bronze barracks. Maybe calling them “barracks” was being too charitable to the low, half-decaying buildings made of moldering old bricks. Maybe.

Skylla didn’t care.

Konyyl

And WHAT?   
What the fuck do you even want from me?   
You’re not ready for your duty to our Empire then good for you   
No one wants to be doing this   
My matesprit is in Fleet training on the Green Moon and she might as well be on the other side of the universe   
No one fucking likes this   
We do it because we have to   
So maybe shut the fuck up and let me get another hour of sleep before I have to fucking drill all night

Skylla

...

Theyy killed Ladyy yyou absolute piece of shit   
YYou know theyy did because theyy did the same to you   
Or if yyour lusus was alreadyy dead theyy did it to someone yyou know   
Or someone yyou care about   
So how ‘bout yyou get the fuck off myy bulge and fucking LET ME HAVE THIS!

Konyyl

...

Fine   
Just   
Go somewhere private   
I don’t want anyone noticing and thinking we’re pale or something

As quietly as she could manage, Skylla slid her feet off the edge of the cot and pushed the thin blanket she’d been issued aside with only the faintest rustle of cloth. Her bare feet padded silently on the ground — she wasn’t going to bother with putting her boots on. Not when all she was planning to do was head out behind the barracks building and cry for a while. She wouldn’t need her boots for that.

The barracks was shared with at least a dozen other bronze bloods, all sleeping uneasily on the same cots with the same rough, taut canvas that always hurt to sleep on no matter how you happened to lay on it. They were told that they’d be provided with proper recupercoons once they deployed… but Skylla strongly suspected that was just another one of the lies that the aging olive blood Sergeant had told them when they were first processed in.

He couldn’t even be bothered to be there in person — the feed was piped in via drone video. Most of their instructors so far had been drones. Once they went off planet properly, they would probably at least see other trolls. Probably more olive bloods — the Army seemed to favor them in particular. One step up from the cannon fodder that was the rust and bronze bloods.

But not high up enough to be treated any differently.

Not high up enough to keep their lusii.

The tears were threatening to come back again before Skylla was even out the back door to the barracks. Threatening to not just return, but fully overtake her — until she was a crying mess on the floor. And then she’d surely wake the others and they might have questions about why she was currently walking outside in the dead hours of the morning with her palmhusk clutched so tightly that her knuckles faded white from it.

With a choked swallow, Skylla walked faster. And in another few steps, she was at the door to the barracks. Carefully, she opened the door, constantly mindful of the way that it would squeak if pulled the wrong way. On the other side, the humidity of the South Alternian summer twilight hit her — it was just getting dim enough that she could be outside, but still light enough that the sudden shift from the dimly-lit barracks hurt her eyes. Skylla flinched, but didn’t make a sound. Only once she was through the door and it was closed quietly behind her did Skylla give herself a moment to relax. She leaned up against the side of the barracks and squinted down at the palmhusk.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 0327 AST (1827 AUT)

Skylla

There I’m all outside and everyything.   
YYou actuallyy willing to talk now?

Konyyl

I can’t believe I’m fucking doing THIS   
I hope you’re not near enough that someone is just gonna come along   
I swear to Empress Imperious I will find you when we’re deployed

Skylla

Okayy fine.   
I’ll go over to the latrines.   
Is that okayy with yyou?

Konyyl

Oh you’re gonna take me out in the back like a real pale slut huh?

I’m laughing at you right now in case you can’t tell

Skylla gripped the palmhusk even tighter and growled under her breath, the anger at the olive blood’s attitude momentarily eclipsing even her own grief. One week of training — one week she’d been pretending to be okay when inside her heart was constantly breaking. If she showed that emotion… she cried when it happened, and the drones beat her for it. And the other recruits watched in shocked silence because what else could they possibly do? What else could anyone do but watch in stunned silence and shuffle along filling their role to the Empire?

She wanted so badly to scream — wanted to let all that frustration and anger and hurt out in one loud, primal yell. That would wake everyone and it would alert the drones. And maybe she could argue that she was just out to use the load gaper in the latrines or maybe they’d beat her again. Or maybe they’d just kill her because it was simple and it was easy and no one really knew how the drones decided what they did.

The ground was still hot underfoot as Skylla pushed through the humid air and walked the path out to the latrines. In spite of the austentatious name assigned to it, the Regional Training Command was little more than a half-swamped stretch of old farmland that had been converted into a glorified holding pen for recruits that had yet to be assigned to their offworld training detail. They were forced through grueling physical training every night, then shuffled into the barracks to sleep out the Alternian day cycle in relative peace.

Except peace was something that never really came — because all of them had the same spectres haunting them. The first thing the drones had done was kill their lusii. Some of the others said they thought it was because their lusus had tried to stop the recruitment drones when they arrived…

Skylla knew this wasn’t true. Ladyy had been happy to see the drones for some reason — thought that they were there to play a game or something. And the first thing they’d done was to put a kinetic bolt through her thinkpan.

Skylla fought against the tears and the rage and the screaming inside of her again. She was almost at the latrines now — almost behind the berm of loosely-piled dirt that would give her at least some vague sense of privacy. Not that the privacy would make anything feel any better, but at least then she could cry. At least then she could curl up and talk to the one person whose name happened to be in her contacts who might have at least some sense of how she was feeling right now. Even if she was mostly just telling herself that Konyyl was genuinely listening.

At least she hadn’t blocked her yet… that had to mean something.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 0332 AST (1832 AUT)

Skylla

Fine. There. I’m almost at the goddamn latrines.   
YYou happyy now? YYou willing to just at least let me vent to someone?

Konyyl

Are you sure this isn’t a pale thing?   
I’ve technically got that quadrant open   
If you want this to be a thing   
Not a serious thing of course but MAYBE

Skylla

I’m REALLYY not in the mood to talk quadrants right now, yy’hear?   
Didn’t yyou listen to a damn thing I said?

Konyyl

Sure   
Poor rustie lost her precious lusus   
Poor rustie has to join the Army   
Poor rustie has to live just like the rest of us

Empress look at me now   
Talking like I’m black for YOU

Skylla

Please just stop

Skylla reached the mound of dirt that qualified as the barest nod toward privacy — a way to use the gaper and maybe pretend for at least a second that you weren’t in the world you were. That maybe things were better — you were just out back because walking back to the ranch house would take too long. Your lusus was back at home relaxing in the house and waiting for you. And you’d head back once you finished up in the fields and whip up some fresh-baked grubloaf and…

...and just forget where you are for one, solitary moment.

Half-hidden behind the berm, Skylla finally let herself cry.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 0334 AST (1834 AUT)

Skylla

I miss her so fucking much!

Konyyl

Oh please   
Get over it   
Like none of us have ever had to deal with pain before   
You’ll never last on deployment like that

Skylla

I don’t WANT to last…   
I don’t want to do anyything right now.   
I don’t know whyy I keep going.

Konyyl

Look I know I said this could be a pale thing but   
I was fucking with you OKAY?   
I’m not gonna lead you on like this

Skylla

I don’t care anyymore

Without typing another word, Skylla threw the palmhusk down into the muddy dirt, staring at the words blazing on the screen. Words that looked back up at her accusingly…

“I don’t care anymore.” She said it out loud, and she turned back to look at the barracks. The sun was almost completely down now and soon it would be time to get up and try to scrounge some time for grooming before the first round of PT in the morning.

She couldn’t stop crying.

“I don’t care anymo—”

And without warning, she was lifted off her feet and then she was falling back — her face hot and her ears ringing.

Skylla had never seen a concussion bomb go off before — never realized how quickly everything would happen. Never imagined how the building would go from existing to not existing in the blink of an eye.

She hit the dirt hard enough to knock the wind out of her and instinctively, unthinkingly, she began to roll back away from where the barracks had been. Away from the stretch of mud-sodden ground that still contained a series of barracks for rust and bronze bloods — that still had—

The second explosion didn’t throw her in the air, but it hurt. A wave of pressure hit her and she felt like throwing up. She tried to bury herself down in the mud, completely ignoring anything but the need to get away from whatever came next.

The third explosion knocked her unconscious — and for a time, Skylla Koriga didn’t have to think about anything.


	2. Broken Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter contains references to relationship abuse, including implications of sexual coercion and assault. There is also a mention of alcohol abuse.

the 1st night...

The City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0345 local time (1845 AUT)

Chixie Roixmr pulled herself up off of the pile in her apartment where she’d fallen asleep the night before. She went slowly — carefully — because she wasn’t the only one there. Zebruh Codakk was still snoring next to where she’d been sleeping, and the last thing she wanted to do was wake him up. If she woke him up, she’d have to talk to him. She didn’t want to talk to him if she could help it. She didn’t want to—

She looked around for the bottle she’d had the night before. There was a certain balance to it — drinking just enough to be able to tolerate him but not so much that she forgot herself. Not too much — then she’d start telling him how she felt.

With a practiced smoothness, she slid away from his outstretched hand. A quick moment of panic when she brushed it… but then he grunted and turned over and snored even louder. He’d had more to drink than she did yesterday.

“Bastard,” she muttered quietly to herself. Her foot hit an empty plastic bottle on the floor — it still smelled faintly of alcohol. So she wasn’t going to be able to take the edge off the hangover that was about to hit her. That was fine — it was all fine.

_Stupid bastard drank until he passed out again._

At least he’d been unconscious before he’d had a chance to do anything really bad. She didn’t think, anyway. It always felt like a chore, frequently felt disgusting, and sometimes felt downright unsafe. There were so many reasons not to keep doing this but… at least one major reason to do it.

From across the room, Chixie heard something buzzing softly — a faint trace of noise that seemed to be coming from the bathroom. As quickly as she could without making noise, she glided into the bathroom and grabbed the palmhusk from the counter.

For a moment, her blood-pusher jumped in her chest — because if Zebruh saw the name on the screen he would have questions that she didn’t feel like answering. Those questions would lead to accusations that she didn’t want to answer for. And those accusations would lead to an apology that she didn’t want to give, and ways of making up that she didn’t want anything to do with.

She grabbed the palmhusk and slowly closed the door, leaning heavily up against it.

snakeBytes began chatting with lyricalfirebrand at 0347 AST (1847 AUT)

Mallek

hey you need to fucking pick up your goddamn palmhusk;   
this = serious;

Chixie

what do you want / i just got up / got a lot on my mind right now

Mallek

i’m != fucking around with you;   
i need you to listen and i need you to start packing a bag;   
right;   
fucking;   
now;

Chixie leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling, groaning softly to herself. Whatever it was, she wasn’t ready for it. She’d barely been ready for it when she first talked to Mallek a sweep ago — when she first became involved in something that had started mundanely enough but had become downright treasonous.

Sitting down on the load gaper, he bent over and clutched her head in her hands, running fingers absently down her horns, playing with the hair that trailed down on her shoulders, finally hugging the opposite arm up tight against her chest.

_I don’t have time for this. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of this._

lyricalfirebrand began chatting with snakeBytes at 0352 AST (1852 AUT)

Chixie

look i know you mean well / but i’ve got a way out / i’ve got someone who can help

Mallek

what you mean that stupid fucker you’re sleeping with?;   
what’d he promise you anyway?;   
because i know for a fact that he != able to deliver;

Chixie

you don’t know that! / this is important to me / why can’t you respect that mallek?

Mallek

why’d you use my fucking name?;   
this != a secure line;   
i just need you to get to the meeting spot AS-fucking-P;   
this = really fucking goddamn important;

Chixie

i’ll get to it / when i can   
don’t make me repeat myself / okay

Before she shut down the palmhusk, Chixie made sure to delete every trace of the messages between her and Mallek. Nothing that they said was in and of itself enough, but the concepts they were implying could get them both killed.

Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

She turned her head and even though the door was there, she could _see_ him lying there. Could still feel his hands on her.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Chixie jumped and almost fell off the load gaper.

“What’s goin’ on in there, babe?” Zebruh’s voice was still thick with the slur of too much alcohol from the night before. Chixie cringed and shifted on the load gaper.

“Nothing! I just had to use the gaper!” She fought to keep the nervous energy out of her tone. “Booze didn’t agree with me.”

Zebruh laughed — Chixie hated the way he laughed — “Seems like it plenty agreed with you last night, babe.”

She forced a nervous laugh. “Yeah… seriously.” Inside, she forced back the retching and the need to scream. The urge to break down the door and take the palmhusk and beat the shit out of him with it. To keep hitting him until he was blue and bleeding and begging for mercy on the floor. She might even be able to pull it off…

But she would never get away with it.

“Hurry the fuck up, yeah?” Zebruh’s voice dropped and took on a tone that spoke faintly of menace — he wasn’t asking. “I gotta shit and you’re taking up the gaper.”

Chixie made a big show of flushing and running the water in the sink, pretending to wash her hands. She ran them under the water — she knew he’d notice if her hands weren’t wet. She stared hard at the reflection in the grimy mirror — the haggard eyes staring back at her behind a scared expression. The expression of someone always ready to run but never able to.

“You done yet?” Zebruh’s voice was moving from menacing to downright threatening. Without waiting for the next evolution of it, Chixie quickly shut off the water and shook her hands dry before opening the door.

“Took you long enough,” he said slowly, peering down at her hands. “Give me some fucking space.”

_Of course he wants space right now. Couldn’t give me space last night._

And she wanted to go back in the bathroom and run the water as hot as it would go and scrub until she bled.

“Hey… I’ve gotta go out in a bit. Is that… okay?” Her voice was shaking as she asked.

Zebruh snorted as he pushed past her into the bathroom. “I guess. Get back here before it’s too late in the night — we’ve gotta go over your set for tomorrow’s daybreak performance. Don’t want to let the audience down… you know, this kind of thing could make a big difference in getting that deferral. Big difference… babe.”

He smiled at her, showing his top fangs.

She hated that smile.

* * *

The Diver, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0512 local time (2012 AUT)

The Diver was, at least on the surface, a shitty bar buried at the bottom of a flight of grungy stairs in one of the worst rust neighborhoods in Everdim. Getting there without a vehicle was tricky — the transit didn’t run there and she ended up walking most of the way. By the time she arrived, she was exhausted from the walking and ready to be done with whatever stupid bullshit Mallek had planned.

Down that flight of stairs she’d only been down once before — this wasn’t the kind of place that Zebruh typically tried to book her. It wasn’t really the kind of place that actually booked anyone. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a door — thick and reinforced with metal banding.

She knocked — the pattern was specific but Mallek had made sure she knew the precise rhythm.

A small window in the door slid open — a single eye stared at her.

“The fuck are you?” Even if she hadn’t met them before, Chixie knew Cirava Hermod from their music… and the outsized negative attention they’d managed to attract from the highbloods. “Get the fuck out of here.”

They went to close the window and Chixie sighed — “you don’t know who I am?”

A slight pause.

“I don’t know who you are, sorry.” The words were precisely measured this time, less casual.

Chixie sighed again and said the last part — something she’d memorized. “No one knows the Signless.”

“Fuck,” Cirava said. “I thought I’d be able to get you out of here. Fuck.”

From inside, Chixie heard a commotion and saw Cirava turn. “I was just messing with her, I know who she is. We’ve fucking performed together.”

With a heavy click, the deadbolt on the door slid back and the door opened, the widening maw of the Diver yawning in front of her. A moment of hesitation and Chixie thought that she could turn back — could go back and return to the life that she had. It wasn’t something she _liked_ but it was something she was able to tolerate. Barely. With some assistance from her best chemical friends.

One step forward, and she was across the threshold. Cirava motioned impatiently, begging her to get in before someone saw her — an informant or a surveillance drone. Chixie glared at them as she walked past.

“I don’t have the time for this shit, Cirava. Fuck you.” She flipped them an obscene gesture and they shrugged.

“Whatever,” they said, closing the door tightly and bolting it again before returning to a small metal stool set up by the door. Leaning up against the wall, they pulled out their vaporizer and took a long draw. “Mallek’s in the back if you wanna see what’s jammed up his nook. He didn’t tell me shit.”

She shrugged and walked toward the back of the Diver — past the dilapidated bar surrounded by mouldering chairs. A barren stage down at the end — a stage that hadn’t seen anyone performing since Chixie was a wiggler. But the point wasn’t to be a music venue or a place to drink your sorrows away. It served another purpose now — one that Chixie wasn’t sure she wanted anything to do with. One that she wasn’t sure she could walk away from.

_Feeling trapped all around lately._

The room in the back was humming — humming with the sound of computers and cooling fans all running in tandem. A single table sat in the middle, and at that table sat Mallek Adalov. His hands were up at the sides of his face — quickly running over the spot where the hair was shaved close in a pattern born of nervous energy.

As soon as he heard Chixie walking in, he looked up sharply. His face quickly ran the gamut from terrified, to glad, to worried. His brow furrowed. “You weren’t followed?”

Glaring at him, Chixie shook her head. “Why the fuck would I be followed? I’m a singer, Mallek, not some revolutionary fighter or whatever.”

“Stop calling me by name,” he hissed. “Call me SnakeByte if you need to refer to me at all. And stop making such dangerous assumptions about what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“I don’t fucking need this.” Chixie turned to walk back out, her shoulders drooping. “Zebruh’s got a plan for me. Don’t need this shit anymore.”

“What’s his plan? To get you a deferral for service? That he’ll put in a word with someone near the top who can get you out of it? That he’s got highblood friends?”

Chixie gritted her teeth and clenched her hands at her side. “Fuck you. You don’t know what you’re talking about…”

It was a lie — every word of it was a lie. She knew in her heart that Zebruh was lying. There wasn’t any deferral of service and there weren’t any highblood friends he could call on. He’d be fine — an indigo blood able to coast by on some Imperial Support Services project or other. But her… she’d end up in the Army or in some kind of Fleet support role. If she was lucky… maybe some kind of backwater post for the rest of her life.

“Fine,” she said. “What the hell is it, Mallek?”

She saw him grimace, but he didn’t say anything about it — instead, he turned the computer screen that was in front of him around.

“This happened a couple hours ago. Right before I messaged you.”

She leaned in and looked at the screen — on it, she could see satellite images of… somewhere. It didn’t mean anything to her, and she grunted angrily at Mallek.

“Is this some kind of test or something? You vetting me to make sure I haven’t turned Imperial since we last talked?” She felt a hot flush of anger behind her cheeks.

“No, this is satellite imagery from the Southern Regional Training Command. Where these giant craters are, there used to be barracks… and a couple of support buildings, I suppose. Now they’re just a bunch of holes in the ground.”

Somewhere inside Chixie’s chest, something slipped loose and she started to feel faint. This was really, actually happening — she’d started talking to Mallek when she was first getting into protest music… and she’d stayed on the side of things that the Empire wouldn’t crack down too hard on. Out of cowardice? Out of lack of experience? Lack of opportunity? She wasn’t even sure sometimes — sometimes she just wanted to crawl into a bottle and disappear. Wanted more than anything to escape.

But this…

“Someone fired the first shot of the rebellion,” Mallek said, “and we don’t know who.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Chixie stared at the computer screen and the image began to take on a new, horrible meaning. How many trolls had died there? How many that had never even gone offworld yet? Did someone she knew meet their end in the charred black of the plains mud?

“Mallek…” he wasn’t answering — just standing there looking terrified. And suddenly, Chixie realized something.

That for all of his talk — for all of the work he put into his revolutionary ideas. For all the time he spent gathering information and planning or organizing…

For all of that, he was still very new to this. And he wasn’t prepared for what had just happened.

Chixie looked around the room — at the computers lining the walls and back toward the front doorway where Cirava sat and smoked quietly, waiting for more rebels to arrive who probably never would.

_He’s no more ready than I am._

_Fuck._


	3. Feedback Loop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter depicts non-explicit, consensual sexual activity between two adults. If you find this kind of content uncomfortable, skip to the first dividing line.

the 1st night...

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 1810 AUT

Stelsa had her up against the bulkhead that formed the wall of their respiteblock and Tyzias was wondering what exactly was going to come next.

“Zizi…” Her voice was hesitant.

“Tell me my ideas are unorthodox,” she whispered, closing her eyes — she knew from the sudden shift in her body that Stelsa had flushed bright teal.

“Y-your ideas are unorthodox,” she said… and leaned in a bit closer. “In fact, I would go so far as to say they’re… a bit unusual.”

“Fffuck,” Tyzias opened her eyes again, seeing the still-blushing Stelsa looking down at the ground instead of in her eyes. “This is…”

_This isn’t going to work._

“Zizi, I’m sorry—” Stelsa began, cutting herself off.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t expect an Auditerrorizer to understand the nuances of what we do in the investigative division,” Tyzias muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me?!” Stelsa shot back. “And look who’s talking here… the wanna-be Legislacerator. They didn’t even bother to give your division a proper name.”

She was leaning in more, and her eyes had flitted back up to lock with Tyzias’. Tyzias smirked at her and leaned her face forward until her nose was practically touching Stelsa’s. And the blush was still there.

Good.

“That’s pretty fucking good, coming from someone who’s basically chasing numbers all day. Get back to me when you know how to do something more than back-trace financial records.”

Her blood-pusher was working overtime to keep her face well-supplied with the teal blood that was coursing through her own cheeks. A hot tingle ran all the way down her back, from head-to-...

...well, it felt good, anyway. The smirk on her face had gone — she wasn’t sure what she looked like to Stelsa but she knew what she _felt_ like and it wasn’t the haughty arrogance she was working at. A lot less decent… a lot redder.

_Okay, maybe it’ll work._

“Nothing to say to that, huh?” Tyzias’ smirk was back on her lips. “Didn’t teach you th—”

She was up against the bulkhead now — Stelsa had pushed forward suddenly and she was kissing her… kissing her _hard._ Tyzias closed her eyes and clawed down at the bulkhead with one hand for support, pushing back against the kiss and using her other hand to grab at the back of Stelsa’s head… seeking a place to grab her hair and…

Stelsa pulled back, but Tyzias kept her eyes closed — she was working by feel now.

“There’s one thing I’m particularly interested in right now and it wasn’t something in the books,” Stelsa muttered. A little hesitant but...

_Oh, that was a good one._

Why did this feel so… transgressive?

Of course, that was the point, right?

Finally finding the purchase she was looking for, Tyzias grabbed her matesprit’s hair near the base and gently pulled, guiding her along to the side. She heard Stelsa moan and…

_Yeah, this is definitely going to work._

...she’d shifted her against the bulkhead. Now Tyzias was pressed up against her, pushing her body to the wall. Opening her eyes, again, Tyzias locked eyes with Stelsa and… she’d never wanted to be with someone more than she did right then. She leaned in and…

_I’m doing this? Yeah… yes. Yes._

...kissed Stelsa’s neck, nipping ever-so-slighty at the skin as her lips pulled back. Stelsa drew her breath in sharply and Tyzias was already making a mental note.

“I suppose we could continue to discuss differences in our relative approaches to doctrine,” Stelsa half-muttered, looking away from Tyzias and her cheeks flushed teal again. “Or we could…”

Tyzias felt the breath catch in her throat — and when it let up she heard herself saying something she wasn’t quite expecting.

“I’d rather fuck you.”

_I guess if it works, it works…_

* * *

Up against the bulkhead — insistent… urgent.

On the pile in the corner — slower.

And then it was all over in way that was… Tyzias wasn’t sure how to describe it. “Sweet” was the word that kept coming back again and again.

And Stelsa was lying against her chest. Skin pressed up against skin and she was warm and everything was fine for however long the glow lasted. Tyzias closed her eyes and let that feeling run through her, seeping into the muscles that almost always ached from stress. The little burst of positive neurotransmitters was temporarily dulling the pain that was always there just under the surface.

“Thanks,” she muttered softly. She didn’t open her eyes, but she felt Stelsa shift on top of her… felt a warm hand placed on her stomach.

“I didn’t think much of your idea at first,” Stelsa said — her voice sounded almost embarrassed. “The whole… pitch-flipping thing…”

“Should I be apologizing right now?” Tyzias asked, still not opening her eyes. “I can apologize if you want.”

The hand on her stomach moved down and traced a line along her hips, then back to her stomach.

Stelsa replied quickly — “No, absolutely not. Not under any circumstances, Zizi.”

“‘s not like they give two shits what we do with our quadrants up here anyway.”

“So… have fun with it, then?” Another round of the hand down to her hip and back. Tyzias blushed.

“Sure, why not?” Tyzias shrugged her shoulders and shifted herself up against Stelsa — the ache was starting to creep back in and it was getting harder to stay comfortable. She wanted to enjoy this — to spend as much time with her matesprit (and, she supposed, her part-time kismesis) as possible.

“What’s wrong? Is it hurting again?” The pressure against her chest immediately let up as Stelsa rolled off. Opening her eyes, Tyzias saw the concern in her matesprit’s eyes.

She sighed. “It always hurts, Stels.”

She closed her eyes again and let herself drift back as far as she could — to the point where the pain was at least tolerable…

* * *

Tyzias didn’t even realize she’d started to fall asleep until the sound of her palmhusk’s urgent message notification sounded from its place on a nearby table. Still-naked and cursing to herself, Tyzias stumbled over to the table and grabbed the palmhusk.

bettercallgorgor began chatting with ferventnihilist at 1843 AUT 

Tagora 

You need to be in the investigative command center and you need to be there three minutes ago. *_________ 

Tyzias 

okay, wwwwhat the fuck sore-gor?   
i wwwwas just spending sommmme quality timmmme wwwwith mmmmy mmmmatesprit   
and wwwwe’re off-shift

Tagora 

Wonderful. Congratulations on fucking your red fling — you deserve an award of some kind commensurate with your valued place here. 

That being said, get your fucking asses in here, I wasn’t asking. This is coming straight down from the High Inquisitor himself. *_________ 

Tyzias 

okay you don’t have to twwwwist mmmmy armmmm on this 

A single glance over at Stelsa, who was sitting on the bed and staring at her own palmhusk, was enough to confirm that she had received a very similar message.

“What does it mean, Zizi?” she asked quietly. She had her glasses on and was already in the process of pulling on clothes and in that moment Tyzias wished that they could stay in here forever. Because whatever was happening outside the respiteblock was harsh, and cold, and ugly.

“I don’t know, Stels. I guess Sore-gor will give us the rundown when we get there.”

* * *

The “investigative command center” was, in actuality, a series of cramped offices and one large meeting room in the depths of the Iustitia. It might have been a large ship — one of the largest in the Fleet that wasn’t deployed somewhere else in the galaxy — but it was still a starship and that meant that living space was always at a premium. As such, the Legiscorpus had crammed two entire investigative divisions inside.

The Auditerrorizers, who Stelsa Sezyat was an Initiate with, were responsible for internal investigations, censorship of potentially dissident materials, and the like. The perpetually-unnamed investigative subdivision of the Legislacerators, who counted Neophyte Tyzias Entykk among their ranks, was responsible for conducting external investigations. It was a strange and often tense working relationship, but at least Tyzias got to see Stelsa every day.

_’sides, the blackrom stuff helps with the tension._ Tyzias let herself have one small smile at that thought.

Tagora Gorjek was standing in the central meeting room looking at one of the wall-mounted monitors and gripping a remote control tightly. He turned as soon as they walked into the room, and one look at his face was enough to kill that small smile.

“It took you fucking long enough,” his voice was cold.

Tyzias rolled her eyes. “It’s been ten minutes, Sore-gore. Ten fucking minutes and we were off-shift. You know that!”

Tagora glared at Tyzias, nodded curtly to Stelsa, and continued. “It doesn’t matter. We’re going to be all hands on deck after this.” He pointed to the screen — a blurry satellite image showing something that Tyzias’ eyes were having trouble clearly communicating to her brain.

“What is it?” she asked, eyes narrowing. “What am I supposed to be looking at and why is it so important?”

“Are those craters?” Stelsa asked from next to Tyzias — she was squinting at the screen and moving her glasses on her face, leaning in to get a better look. “They look like craters.”

“Blast craters,” Tagora said — his voice was quiet now. “According to a report from Satellite Intelligence, there were a series of concussion explosions set off in the barracks complex of the Southern Alternian Regional Training Command at around 1840 Alternian Universal Time.”

Tyzias felt something inside of her clench up… and she realized that she was holding her breath. She looked closer at the image on the screen and she could see it — a series of perfect, blackened, interlocking circles.

Tagora kept talking — “Orbital Command received a call almost immediately from personnel on the ground and… it’s not great. These were…” He looked down and checked some notes he had in front of him — Tagora could talk his way out of basically anything but he wasn’t a technical specialist.

“Low yield concussion bombs. The same kind we use for precision targeting — take out a building or two.”

“That’s horrid,” Stelsa interjected. “Who would _do_ something like that? The Legislacerators have some idea?”

Tagora sighed — Tyzias didn’t like how he sounded about any of this — “Yeah… no. The Legislacerators still don’t even know how many trolls got killed, let alone have any meaningful idea who was responsible. The High Inquisitor believes it was the work of revolutionaries which… I think that’s pretty obvious, if somewhat unhelpful, information. I’ve been asked to coordinate the investigation which…” He sighed again. Tagora sounded like a man who’d been given very specific, very unpleasant direction as far as what would happen if this investigation didn’t go well.

“Why do you want our help specifically?” Tyzias asked, already knowing the answer. In spite of everything, she and Stelsa had scored consistently well across all of the academic and practical metrics. From Tagora’s returning glare, she knew that he was thinking the same thing.

“Okay, fine. What do you want us to _do_ specifically?” Tyzias wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“Oh, that’s easy. You’re going planetside again. You get to visit shadowed Alternia once again.” Tagora let every word positively _drip_ with sarcasm. “You’ll meet up with whatever passes for a Legislacerator down there and try to figure out what happened based on little to no information and a series of probably-wrong assumptions from command.”

He smirked at her — “You’ll be like Mulder and Scully from A Show Where Two Agents Of A Secret Branch Of The Legislacerators Investigate A Number Of Strange Happenings Including But Not Limited To At Least One Incident Involving Aliens.”

Tyzias glowered at him. “This isn’t a fucking joke, Gor-gor.”

“Oh, you think I don’t know that,” his brow was deeply furrowed. “At least a hundred recruits likely dead — given the size of the blast craters and number of buildings that are no longer there — and we’re all likely to be on the culling block if we don’t produce some kind of results. I’d say I understand extremely well that this isn’t a fucking joke, _Tyzias._ ”

“Zizi, we’ll figure it out.” Stelsa put a hand on Tyzias’ shoulder. She leaned into that small touch of warmth, and she was about as far as it was possible to be from the bliss she’d felt not even an hour ago.

She looked over at her matesprit’s hopeful smile… and more than anything, she wished she could believe it.


	4. A Box for All Harm

the 1st night...

South Alternian Regional Training Command - 0738 local time (2138 AUT)

Skylla’s skin wasn’t burning when she woke up, so she hadn’t been out long enough for the sun to come out again. The twin moons danced overhead — green and pink in turn — joined by the trailing wisps of smoke curling up from somewhere she couldn’t see.

The first thing she noticed when she came back to fully conscious awareness was the smell. The smell of rancid burning — an ozone smell that brought to mind singed plastic but on an unthinkable scale. For some reason, she thought that a rust smell would fit better — a blood smell. But that wasn’t it… all that remained was the faintest trace of elemental misery.

Skylla groaned and turned herself sideways in the mud — it had dried up from the heat of the explosion and coated her skin. It hurt, but not in a way that suggested that anything was permanently damaged. That was good… that was the only good that was going to come out of this.

In the distance, she heard shouting — the sound of someone calling and the oncoming rush of feet in the muddy ground. A rust blood was standing there holding a shovel, wearing a pair of safety goggles. It was someone that she recognized from the mess hall and training, but not someone she knew personally — there were enough trolls at the base that she didn’t know most of them.

“You should stay still,” the rust blood said, shaking her head. “There’s a good chance that you’ve suffered internal injuries from the concussion blast.”

The troll knelt down next to Skylla and lifted her goggles to reveal a pair of almond-shaped eyes and squinted as she smiled. “You were lucky to survive. What were you doing out here?”

Skylla groaned and let herself slump back into the mud. “Was out using the gaper.”

“You’ve got good timing then,” the rust blood said quietly. “Half the barracks are gone. Not even any bodies to clean up — not much of anything left to clean up, to be honest.”

In the corner of her vision, Skylla saw the troll peek at her. “I can check you out, if you want. I was going to sign up for medic training but… they said that only golds get to be medics.” She sighed heavily and Skylla could see the disappointment on her face.

“Yeah… y’all go ahead now.” Skylla sighed. “Though we might as well get introduced if you’re plannin’ to poke and prod me a bit.”

The rust blood laughed. “Marsti. You?”

“Skylla — wish we could meet under better circumstances. So you gonna check me out, doc?”

Marsti laughed again… and Skylla smiled. “I’m not a doctor, Skylla. I think I just told you that.” She reached out and put a gloved hand on Skylla’s shoulder. “Please relax. I’m going to press in a few places and you tell me if anything hurts particularly badly.”

She began to push in with her fingers — nothing that hurt more than the deep ache that was all over everywhere. Skylla suspected that was the result of her proximity to the explosion.

“What happened?” Skylla asked, still staring up at the wisps of smoke rising into the air. “We got attacked?”

And that didn’t make any sense — who was going to attack them back here on Alternia? It wasn’t the colonies — wasn’t the frontier. Even the worst bandits on the planet wouldn’t dare attack an Alternian Army installation — let alone with such overwhelming force. Skylla was too tired… too upset… too exhausted by everything to think about it any more.

Marsti frowned and murmured to herself before responding. “No idea, but a lot of people died. We’ve been picking through for hours and… they hit each of the barracks dead-on right in the middle of the sleep cycle. Does this hurt?” She prodded directly into Skylla’s gut and she flinched. “Good. It’s supposed to hurt. But not too much.”

Skylla turned her head to the side, staring directly at the dirt berm that had possibly protected her from the blast. Maybe that was the only reason that she was still alive. And how much did that matter? Why did she deserve to be alive when she wasn’t even the one who wanted to be?

The smoke was still there — the last traces of the other low bloods that she’d been eating dinner with the day before. Still curling up into the heavens… still smelling like ozone and death.

* * *

Skylla was sitting up now, wrapped in a blanket that Marsti had found for her and staring at the blast craters that dotted an area she’d once lived with a few hundred other lowbloods who she had at least held some comradery with, if not actually known in any substantial way. Now they were only so much carbon on the ground — an extended scorch of the dirt and a caved-out hollow where the bombs had exploded… where the city-scrappers had done their dirty business.

Marsti pronounced her in good health and that was the closest thing she was going to get to being seen by an actual medic. She hadn’t actually seen a gold blood at the training command — they got shipped to the moons for Fleet training before deployment. Everyone down on Alternia… they were just filling space until they could be shipped to one of the colonies for actual training. Actually training which consisted of…

She wasn’t sure anymore, and she didn’t care. She stared with wide eyes instead — stared at the scorch-dark holes. Imagined all the people who had never even had a chance to wake up and face their fates with any kind of foreknowledge. Was that better or worse? Skylla sighed and clutched the blanket around her mud-caked form and groaned.

“Ladyy…” She missed having the big, silly lusus there to bound up to her and knock her on the ground and make her feel like everything was going to be okay. Like she wouldn’t be shipping offworld and never returning. Like she could keep working the ranch forever and never have to worry about anything that the Alternian Empire gave a shit about.

The crying hit her hard with those thoughts running through her mind. She leaned forward, hugging her knees up against her chest and breathing hard to try to keep herself from screaming.

She didn’t hear the teal bloods walk up to her until they were standing right in front of her. One of them cleared their throat and her head snapped up.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Skylla glared through mud-caked eyelashes at them. One of them towered over the other, squinting through a pair of thick-framed glasses. The other slouched forward — her face set with an expression that was almost unreadable. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks quickly, frowning at the two teals. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Neophyte Entykk. This is Initiate Sezyat. We’re here to ask you a few questions.” The teal pulled out a palmhusk and thumbed through it quickly. “We’ll be recording this conversation.”

It wasn’t a request.

“Zizi,” the other one interrupted — her tone was a bit softer. “Why don’t we let this poor young lady catch her breath for just a minute.” She bent down and smiled at Skylla. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? We’re going to be asking you some questions… nothing hard or anything like that. Just to get a better idea what happened here.”

She spoke in a voice that was coated in honey, but the content of what she was saying carried the same venom. They were going to ask questions. It wasn’t a request.

The first teal — Neophyte Entykk… Zizi? — rolled her eyes. “Fine. Do you need anything else before we begin, miss… uh…”

“Recruit Skylla Koriga,” Skylla answered sharply — the way she’d already been trained to answer her superiors. And whether or not these two were actually her superiors was debatable — she knew the ranks meant they were still in the early stages of their careers, if not still in training themselves. But by virtue of their blood and their assigned role, they had something to hold over her.

“Well, Recruit Koriga…” The Neophyte screwed up her face and looked off to the side, in the direction of the blast craters. The look on her face changed, and she frowned deeply. When she started to speak again, her tone had softened. “Skylla. We’re talking to you because you were here to witness what happened. We want you to be fully honest with us and not leave anything out. If you don’t know the answer to a question, let us know and don’t make anything up.”

The Initiate next to her nodded approvingly. “Yes, Ms. Koriga, we’re here to help find out who did this. To find justice for your grubmates-in-arms.”

She smiled when she said it, but Skylla felt her stomach turn at the phrase. Was that what they were — those people she hardly knew? The ones she did endless physical training with and never spoke to? The ones she’d probably never see again once they went offworld. The idea that they were anything to her was laughable…

But they were still dead. So maybe that meant something?

Skylla didn’t know, and she didn’t care enough to argue about it.

“Please just ask so y’all can go bother someone else.” She bowed her head.

“Fine,” Neophyte Entykk tapped the palmhusk and cleared her throat. “Can you please explain what you witnessed, in as much clarity as possible?”

Skylla felt her face getting hot — and she didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “Well, I woke up and I had to use the gaper so… I walked out to the latrines and that was when the barracks exploded.”

The Neophyte nodded. “I see. Around what time did you wake up?”

“0320 local time.” She pronounced it _oh-three-twenty_ “I checked my palmhusk when I got up.”

“Didn’t ask how you knew, but okay…” The Neophyte looked like she was making a mental note. “And you walked directly to the load gaper? You didn’t make any stops or deviations along the way?”

Skylla felt a flash of anger rising up inside of her — who was this bitch to question her right now?! She swallowed and took a deep breath. “Yeah, I went right to the gaper.”

Neophyte Entykk nodded and her eyes quickly darted up and her lips moved quickly. “So you went out to the gaper… did you get a chance to use it?”

“No, I was just at the berm when the explosion went off.” Skylla didn’t know where the question was leading, but she knew she felt uncomfortable about it.

“Ah, I see.” Entykk looked like she was making another mental note. She turned to the woman standing next to her. “Stels, can you tell me what time the explosion was recorded on the satellite, please?”

The other one — Initiate Sezyat… Stels? — nodded quickly and pushed up the glasses that were starting to slide down the bridge of her nose. “Of course, Zizi — the satellite footage shows the explosion happened around 0340 Alternian Southern Time.”

“Hmmm… Interesting.” Entykk nodded and Skylla realized that she really hated the way this woman said the word _interesting_ as if she knew something secret that no one else was privy to. “So you’re saying you took twenty minutes to walk… what… a hundred yards to the berm? Is that sounding about right, Recruit Koriga?”

All of a sudden, this was feeling distinctly more personal than it had a moment ago. Did they suspect she had something to do with this?! That she somehow had the resources and the knowledge to carry out this kind of plan?

But Entykk continued as if she hadn’t even said anything about it. “Well, in any case… you were out by the berm and the explosion levelled the building and knocked you unconscious. Is that all correct?”

“I guess so,” Skylla said quietly. “I don’t remember the last bit of it… just… I think I was falling? I’m not sure.”

“A completely normal response to something so horrid!” Initiate Sezyat added with a rising lilt to her voice that sounded to Skylla’s ears as a cross between caring and intensely manufactured. “Dear, you must’ve been so terrified.”

Skylla shrugged. “I guess so, ma’am. Wasn’t something I really remember.”

“Of course. But there’s one other thing to discuss.” The Neophyte reached into her pocket and retrieved a transparent plastic bag holding a single object — Skylla instantly recognized the shape of her palmhusk. And she felt her stomach knot up.

_It’s fine. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just talking to someone. There’s no regulations against that when we’re not training._

She felt herself stammering to respond — trying to preemptively justify whatever they would see on the palmhusk. Would they try to claim it somehow showed knowledge of what was going to happen? Did that even make sense? Who had she even been talking to… Skylla struggled to remember.

Konyll. She’d messaged Konyll because she couldn’t think of anyone else to talk to. And what the hell had they talked about? She remembered Konyll kept trying to imply she had something pale for her… that was harmless enough. She’d talked about what they did to Ladyy and… would that be considered bad enough to act on? Would it be brought up in a Legislacerator court… or, given the profile of this kind of thing, a Subjuggulator’s carnival of inquisition?

Panic. Panic and fear that wouldn’t go away, and Skylla fought against it. Physically fought to avoid saying something that would ultimately have her sent down the rails to her own execution. Because they’d be looking for blood — looking for someone to quickly blame for the problem. Looking for a way to pin this on someone who couldn’t make a fuss about it.

But… the Neophyte shrugged. “It won’t even turn on. Concussion bomb completely fried it and no one’s here to fix it. Hope you’ve got insurance.” Without another word, the Neophyte tossed her the bag with the palmhusk in it. Skylla caught it, and it seemed like the Neophyte was smiling at her. “We’ll be in touch, I would imagine. We’re staying nearby until this investigation is concluded. Let me know if you remember anything else.”

The Neophyte handed her a small card with a name and contact information printed neatly on it. And without another word, she turned and walked away. The Initiate nodded as well, smiled, and followed after.

No one came over to check on her for a while after that. Lowbloods milled around the blast craters — nominally helping to clean up but mostly just standing there. But no one came over to talk to her, and Skylla felt like she was okay with that. Right then, she mostly wanted to sink down into the world and fade away. To just be part of the dirt and the mud and not have to worry about anything.

With a sigh, Skylla turned the dead palmhusk over in her hands. Absent-mindedly, she thumbed the power button — wondering to herself how much it would cost from her pitiful stipend to replace the damn thing.

And with a short chirp, the device powered on, showing the messenger screen glowing brightly beneath a hairline web of cracks.

kull4hire began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0341 AST (1841 AUT)

Konyll

oh did i hurt your precious wiggler feelings?   
goddamn get over yourself rustie

kull4hire began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0357 AST (1857 AUT)

Konyll

you all done, wiggler?   
you had enough?   
guess that rules out the blackrom thing, yeah?   
fuck off

kull4hire began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0642 AST (2142 AUT)

Konyll

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!   
koriga if you don’t fucking call me and tell me whats going on right now   
there is a fucking CLOWN   
a mother fucking clown here

what the hell is a clown doing here koriga?   
what did you fucking DO?!


	5. The Showman

the 2nd night...

Alternian Army Central Command, North Alternia - 0500 local time (0800 AUT)

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0500 AST (0800 AUT)

Polypa

tegiri * it’s time for our morning chat * when you’re ready *|

Tegiri

Of course you are punctua/ as a/ways.   
A true warrior, you wi// not /et yourse/f be /u//ed into comp/acency.

Polypa

have you heard what happened yesterday in southern alternia? *|   
i don’t know if the news has reached the colonies *|

Tegiri

If you are referring to the business with the bombing… then yes.   
We received a high a/ert priority message in the /egiscorpus command center short/y after it happened.

Polypa

i thought you were assigned to the administrative division *|   
am i remembering something wrong? *|

Tegiri

No, I am ashamed to admit your are correct.   
I was, in fact, in the process of de/ivering some paperwork and happened to overhear.   
Do you have some additiona/ insight into the who/e mess? Reporting has been… inconsistent.

Polypa

better than insight * i’m gonna be right in the middle of it *|   
assigned administrative detail to a clown *|   
kinda a waste if you ask me * but i don’t know what i expected *|

Tegiri

???

Polypa

it’s nothing * just thought i’d amount to more than a clown secretary by now *|   
never mind * i should go *|   
i’ll talk to you tomorrow, tegiri * take care of yourself *|

Polypa Goezee pulled herself the rest of the way out of the sopor, setting the palmhusk down on the small table by the recupercoon and using her now-free hand to hoist herself over the side. The last traces of the slime slopped haphazardly on the floor — she would clean it up before she headed out for duty.

She couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit lied to these last few sweeps. When she was growing up in Thrashthrust, she saw the Alternian Army as a way out. Not because she was a patriot, but because she’d hardened herself after her accident and that was what the Army valued the most. She already had the skill set, so it was just a matter of finally being able to go offworld and use it for something.

It turned out that there were several problems with that particular set of assumptions.

For one thing, she had expected to actually be offworld for a bit longer than a one-sweep rotation before she wound up back on Alternia. Everything she’d ever read growing up had made it sound like every full adult was exiled forever at ten sweeps… turned out there were a few key exceptions to that. The main one — the one that applied to Polypa specifically — were some particularly large military installations maintained planetside. These served as a base of operations and maintenance for drones, as well as a place for the Army to hold an ever-changing force of ground troops.

The base itself was essentially an isolated city, and they were never allowed off. Not that they’d have anywhere to go — unlike the so-called “Training Command” facilities, Army Central Command took up most of an island that was shared with nothing but a horde of wild snortbeasts that ran up and down the island tearing up the landscape and menacing any troll stupid enough to venture outside the confines of the base’s walls.

That wasn’t so bad, overall. But the other assumption — the one that Polypa woke up every morning regretting she’d ever made — was the idea that the Army would involve significantly more action and significantly less administrative busywork. She’d spent sweeps honing her ability to take lives with the expectation that at least she’d be useful for something when she went offworld. Now she wasn’t offworld and she wasn’t taking lives. Wasn’t conquering worlds. Was just… grubsitting a clown?

It was a borderline blasphemous thing to think. Something that would get her culled if she so much as whispered it.

And yet… even as she washed and dressed for the morning. Even as she pulled on her fatigues and boots and tied her hair back. Even as she carefully adjusted the regulation Army-issue cap on her head…

She couldn’t stop thinking it.

She was supposed to follow the clown around and do what he asked her to. She wasn’t supposed to ask questions or talk back to him. Doing anything wrong could get her culled in an instant. At least, that was the assumption. Except she already knew that her assumptions had a way of being wrong.

The last thing she did before heading out the door was silence her palmhusk and slip it into a uniform pocket for safekeeping. She wished she could talk to Tegiri a little bit more — ask him about life out in the Colonies. He might be doing nothing but boring administrative paperwork, but at least he was offworld. Polypa wished that’d been her — wished she’d been able to leave the place that held so many awful memories for her.

She pushed that particular thought aside — buried it alongside treasonous feelings about clown grubsitting — and turned to walk out the door.

* * *

It was still early enough that the last traces of sunset were spilling over the far horizon, but the night was cooling off and it was all pleasant enough. Most everyone that Polypa saw kept her head down — a lot of them were lowbloods who she outranked anyway. The teals and jades kept to their own officers’ quarters and most of the higher bloods had found various creative ways to dodge military service entirely… at least to avoid being stationed in the Army. That left Sergeant Polypa Goezee surprisingly high up on the ladder.

But still, she wasn’t under any illusions as to her inherent worth here. As long as she kept doing her job, she’d be fine. Step out of line or disrespect one of the commanders and she’d be culled. Maybe there’d been a time when she’d wanted that — secretly yearned for a release from the unending misery of her daily life. Not for a few sweeps now. The Army was boring and she wished she could be out in the thick of the action, but she didn’t wish she was dead anymore. That was something, at least.

Polypa navigated the maze of barracks and support buildings with a practiced ease born of a sweep assigned to this place. Soon, the complex opened up into a central field that was used mostly for physical training in the morning. Normally, Polypa would join the lowbloods she commanded and remind them why she was in charge, but today she crossed the field quickly and made her way toward the command building to report in for her assignment.

She never made it to the command building… because the clown stopped her.

She’d just crossed the field when she saw him — towering over the lowbloods that scurried around and wearing a casual smile that showed too many teeth. Wearing a brilliant purple suit and carrying, of all things, a slender black cane. As soon as Polypa saw him, she knew that her assignment had already effectively begun. He waved her over, his easy grin broadening as she approached.

“Well hey there, girl — was just about to go see if I could wrangle you out of the sopor but it looks like you’re an early riser too.” He winked at her and shifted the cane from one hand to the other. “What they call you, anyway?”

“Sergeant Polypa Goezee, sir.”

The clown nodded. “Pretty-ass name — Polypa. You mind if I call you Polypa, girl?”

“Sir, if you want.”

“Awww, no girl — we can’t be talkin like that now.” The clown clicked his tongue softly and shook his head. “All formal-like and shit — you can call me Marvus if you want. I call you Polypa, you call me Marvus. Actually… I fucking _insist_ on it.” His eyes narrowed on the last part, but the smile quickly bounced back.

Polypa nodded crisply. “Of course, s— Marvus.” And something about the name rang a bell. “Wait… you’re Marvus Xoloto? From Slam or Be Culled?”

He grinned broadly and gave the cane a quick twirl before bowing in front of her. “The one and the very same, Polypa. A high-class act all the way from start to finish.”

This raised so many more questions than it answered for her. Why was this high blood even here in the first place? She knew that the Subjuggulators had their own unique palace inside the Alternian Empire but… they weren’t exactly _military._ In fact, she’d never seen a high blood in three sweeps of service. The High Commander was supposedly a violet blood, and technically Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty was the commander of all the forces of the Alternian Army and Fleet…

But the clowns kept to themselves, mostly. The Subjuggulators handled high profile trials and gave their propaganda sermons and they didn’t involve themselves with the lower blood castes.

Obviously this had something to do with the bombing. A rebel attack — the work of dissident youth on Alternia or exiles who’d come back to strike at the Army itself. This was too much to be a coincidence.

“Now I just abso-fucking-lutely _know_ what’s on your mind. What all’s rattlin around up there for you to chew on. You’re thinkin to yourself — _what’s a dashing young clown like Marvus Xoloto doin here in this very plain institution of fine Alternian traditional values ‘sted of laying down some slam poetry for the masses._ ” He gave her a knowing look before continuing. “Don’t even try to deny it — I know how to read folks, girl.”

She swallowed hard and pulled the cap down lower on her head, as if hiding her face that tiny amount would make even the smallest bit of difference. “I was wondering, yes.”

“Spit it out, girl. I _insist._ ” The tone carried real menace with it.

She sighed. “I was wondering if this had something to do with the bombing.”

“Ding ding ding!” Marvus grinned at her. “You got it in one! See, I got to thinking on this — there’s this one little rustie who survived down there. Had to hit the gaper, ended up savin her life. You know what I got to thinkin about?”

She shook her head and he nodded.

“Course you don’t know — you ain’t me! So I was thinkin that I’d head down to where they’ve got this rustie holed up and make her a bit of a proposal. I think that it’d be good to have her tell her story… have her really let folks know what kind of evil mother-fuckers we’re up against here. Really sell ‘em on how much Trizza cares about them.”

Polypa was confused — this didn’t make any sense. They’d just been attacked and he was talking about it like… like it was some kind of public relations campaign.

“Look, girl, I know what you’re thinking — that this doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. And I feel you… _but_... you know the old joke about the difference between Army intelligence and a barkbeast?”

_On the barkbeast, the shit comes out of the right end._

She nodded and Marvus winked. “Course you do — it’s a great one! And it’s great because it’s true. And it’s true because no one has a fuckin clue what to do these days, so they run around like a bunch of headless cluckbeasts because they don’t know the first thing about how to keep an Empire running.”

He was talking quickly, but every word was perfectly clear — the product of sweeps of experience on the stage. It occurred to Polypa that she didn’t have a clue how old this clown was — he was on planet all the time for his shows but… it occurred to Polypa that the rules about exile might be a bit more flexible when it came to highbloods.

“Anyhow, here’s the deal — you’re gonna go doll yourself up real nice. You got something pretty to wear?”

She blinked at him. “Pretty? Excuse me?”

“Yeah, you know…” he gestured with his cane. “I love the look here — very intimidating — but I need something a little bit more subtle for what I’m doing. Of course you’ll still be packing” — he gave her a quick wink — “but I need you to give me more of a _lovely assistant_ vibe and less of an _about to cull the next motherfucker who looks at you wrong_ one.”

“I don’t…” she stammered out.

Marvus nodded. “I know, I know. Tragedy, really. I get a sense of talent from you that’s abso-fucking-lutely wasted here in this shithole.” He shook his head, putting on an exaggerated frown.

He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, and Polypa felt herself involuntarily flinch. She didn’t say anything.

“No worries — I ain’t gonna bite you. Totally unprofessional to do that, and you and I have a show to run.” And for some reason, that made it sound worse.

“Of course — whatever you want,” Polypa said quietly. “I don’t have another outfit though.”

“Oh no worries, girl — we’re gonna get our asses on a luxury hovercraft down to Southern Alternia today and I’ve got some things for you to try on.” He wagged a finger quickly. “But you mind this and you mind it good — I ain’t sayin you turn off your general attitude and be all nice and meek and whatnot. I’m saying you hide that behind a nice smile until it’s time to bring it out. That’s the trick, darlin… that’s the motherfucking trick.”

He grinned at her… and that simple expression sent shivers down her spine.


	6. With Great Devotion

the 2nd night...

The Southern Caverns - 1800 local time (0900 AUT)

Everyone in the caverns had already heard about what happened the day before — isolation didn’t mean they were completely closed off from the world and rumors were already circulating despite a lack of acknowledgement by the Imperial news. It terrified Lynera — the stories that she was hearing. They were at war with someone. Terrorists had blown up something… civilians, maybe? Lynera spent the whole day looking around the caverns nervously, as if at any moment the same thing could happen.

After all, if someone wanted to really hurt the Empire, wouldn’t they start to target the source of the next generation? Did they know everything that was hidden in the caverns? Did they already have someone on the inside feeding them information? Lynera couldn’t stop thinking about it — she carried out her normal duties and the whole time she kept thinking that maybe one of the other jades had switched sides.

It wasn’t that the Empire didn’t do bad things — everyone knew that they did. But they also had a sacred duty to attend to, and nothing was going to change that. If they stopped doing their job, then… that was just going to be it.

By the end of the night, Lynera was exhausted. She picked at her food in the dining hall, sitting away from the others and frowning down at herself.

Of course, Bronya seemed worried — she wasn’t even eating with the others like she usually did. She was trying not to show it, but Lynera had a sense of when something was really getting to her. She wanted to comfort Bronya — to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But she also wanted Bronya to comfort _her_ — to tell her that everything was going to be okay.

Everything was going to be okay. As long as they stayed true to their duty as jadebloods.

Lynera bowed her head at the table and jabbed a fork at the food she didn’t want to bother eating.

Soon most of them would be gone to one of the orbital facilities to train for cloistering on one of the Colonies or deep space hatching ships that were used to populate distant worlds. Lanque and Bronya had managed to get a temporary deferral, but it was only a matter of time. As soon as someone else was found to take over the caverns, they’d be gone. Lynera had a few perigees, and Daraya maybe a half-sweep to go. The only one who had any substantial amount of time was Wanshi.

Lynera wondered for a minute if she’d be lonely once they were all gone. She wondered about herself too — about how she’d feel. The others could make her furious sometimes, but they were all part of the same cloister. Their bond wasn’t something you could just shrug off.

Lynera screwed up her mouth and stabbed the same piece of food she still didn’t want to eat.

Maybe she’d end up in the same cloister as Bronya… but there was no guarantee. Once they went offworld, then so many different things could happen. If she was really being honest with herself, the chances of being cloistered with Bronya offworld were almost nonexistent. They both had experience leading the caverns, so odds were they’d be split up to provide the same kind of service to different cloisters.

She didn’t want to be a leader. She didn’t want to leave her cloister here. She didn’t want to be away from Bronya. She didn’t want any of this.

Lynera shut her eyes tightly and fought as hard as she could against the tears that wanted so desperately to force their way out. She didn’t want the others to see her — to make fun of her for crying. Or maybe… to know how deeply she cared about Bronya.

“No.” She said it out loud. _I’m not gonna tell them._

As soon as she finished the thought, Bronya walked into the dining hall and Lynera felt her blood pusher speeding up. But Bronya looked even more worried than normal. It looked like she was checked to see that all the senior jade bloods were there.

Bronya cleared her throat.

“Excuse me. I have several announcements for all of you.” She waited for them to turn to look at her. “I will need you to 1 — please give me your undivided attention, and 2 — please hold all questions until I have finished.”

None of them said anything. Bronya looked like she was trying so hard to keep things together for the jades she watched over, but she was at the edge of her resources. She knew something that the others didn’t.

“Well then…” she started to speak, looked down at her feet, then looked up again. “I know that you have all been circulating rumors about what happened yesterday. This is a very bad thing to do, namely because 1 — we cannot verify rumors, 2 — they cause unnecessary panic, and 3 — there’s no guarantee that more information won’t come out later from a reliable source.”

“Do you have a reliable source, then?” Daraya called out. Lynera was about to stand up and say something… but she saw the look in Daraya’s face and stopped herself.

Bronya nodded. “I do. I have received information from the Prime Cloister — they want to ensure that what we do here is uninterrupted.”

The Prime Cloister was a large jade cloister in orbit over Alternia — it was effectively the center of all the jade blood culture. Everything that they did was informed by the Prime Cloister. Every idea was tested and vetted by them. They provided guidance to the jade cloisters throughout the galaxy.

“They confirmed several things for me…” Bronya took a deep breath and shuffled her feet. She was nervous. She was afraid. “1 — there was a bombing yesterday, 2 — this happened at the Southern Alternian Regional Training Command… the Army base, 3 — many people were killed, and 4 — we are expected to continue our duties as normal.”

She stopped and looked around the room. Lanque and Wanshi both looked concerned, but Daraya looked like she was on the verge of panic.

“You’re gotta be fucking with me, Bronya,” she said quickly — the tone in her voice wasn’t anger… it was fear. “What the fuck? So next time it’s here… or it’s somewhere we give a shit about? We’re just supposed to, what… just fuck around here until we get killed?”

“That isn’t right, Daraya. The Alternian Fleet has sent investigators to determine what happened. We need to trust that they will identify and apprehend the culprits before long.

“Bull _shit!_ ” Daraya yelled. Without another word, she stood up and stormed out of the room.

As soon as Daraya had walked out of the dining hall, Bronya let out a heavy sigh. “Does anyone else have any questions? I want to apologize… this wasn’t either 1 — something I expected, or 2 — something I think isn’t a big deal.” She looked in the direction Daraya had stormed off. “But we need to stick with each other or things will only get worse.”

* * *

Lynera waited until the proper end of the night-cycle before she went to go talk to Bronya. There were a lot of reasons why she waited — and a lot of reasons that she was nervous about going to find her. She knew that Bronya would be in the nursery at this hour, checking on the sickly grubs she was tending to there before turning in for the day.

Lynera didn’t want to encounter the others — didn’t want to bother explaining herself to them or having to justify anything. Not that she really had to in the first place — Lanque and Daraya didn’t have any interest in learning how to manage the caverns. That left Lynera effectively as the second-in-charge… at least in theory. They both insisted on being at least marginally hostile to her. Daraya she thought might have the smallest trace of a black crush on her… Lanque she thought was probably just being mean.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was making sure that Bronya was doing all right.

Lynera quietly walked to the doorway to the nursery. As expected, Bronya was kneeling by the sopor pool and tending to one of the small grubs. She had a look on her face that Lynera couldn’t quite place… a kind of sad, far-away look.

She was wearing the pajamas — Lynera felt her blood pusher leap at that. It was a set that Lynera had made for Bronya for her last hatching day. She’d given them to Bronya anonymously — made sure that nothing on the package or in the working of the pajamas themselves could be traced back to her hand. Lynera wasn’t sure why she’d gone to the trouble to conceal her role in their making.

The pajamas were soft — Lynera knew from making them.

_I wish I could just hold her and tell her things will be okay._

But that was a potentially bad thought to be having. A thought that could easily destroy every inch of the trust she’d carefully built between her and Bronya. A thought that could end their friendship in a single misplaced phrase.

For a few minutes, Lynera stood in the doorway and watched Bronya checking on the grubs. She admired the woman’s sense of duty — and her consistency to keeping to it no matter what was happening in the world outside. That was what kept everything else held together in the world. That was what ensured that everything would, eventually, all be okay.

“Bronya…” when Lynera finally spoke, she kept her voice down — she didn’t want to disturb the grubs or alert any of the other members of the cloister.

When Bronya turned to look at her, Lynera wasn’t sure this was a good idea anymore. What if someone got the wrong idea about the two of them?

When she saw the slight jade flush on Bronya’s cheeks, she was even less sure.

“Yes, Lynera… do you need something?”

_Yes. Desperately._

Lynera swallowed — suddenly her throat was too dry for this. “No, nothing in particular. I wanted to check up on you.”

She laughed — a sound that Lynera realized she hadn’t heard in a while. “Check up on _me?_ That’s silly… Lynera, 1 — I’m the one who should be checking on everyone else, and 2 — I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.”

Lynera frowned — she didn’t respond right away. Instead, she began to fidget with the edge of her sweater vest. “No, that’s not okay. Why do you have to do so much all the time and hardly get any help?”

Bronya shrugged and looked back toward the sopor pool where a tiny gold blood grub was paddling around and making a noise that sounded like a cross between a purrbeast and a squeaky toy. She reached down and patted the grub gently on the head and it growled a little and then resumed the squeaking noises.

“Because someone needs to do it or it won’t get done,” she said plainly. And Lynera felt her blood pusher ache.

“I don’t think that’s fair! And now we have to deal with someone setting off bombs out there! You deserve more than that — you deserve so—” _someone to care about you._ — “support. You deserve support.”

“Well, once upon a time I thought I had it,” Bronya said. She looked down at the grub again and a hurt look ran across her face, then faded away. Then that jade flush was back — only for a moment. “It’s not important.”

“I think it is!” Lynera wanted to run up and hug her. To hold her. To tell her that she understood and she would be there for her. Whatever quadrant she wanted but… preferably the most flushed red possible and…

_Oh Empress what the hell is wrong with me?!_

She turned her face away and hoped that the blush on her own cheeks wouldn’t be visible.

Bronya smiled. “I appreciate that, Lynera. Thank you for always being so supportive. I think I’ll go to bed now. I think we should both probably go to bed.”

“Of course…” Lynera let herself trail off, unwilling to voice the rest of the surprisingly indecent thoughts that were running through her mind. “I’ll see you in the evening.”


	7. An Advanced Understanding of Compassion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter contains implied references to alcohol abuse, abusive relationships, and sexual assault.

the 2nd night…

The City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1645 local time (0745 AUT)

He’d been gone the whole damn night, at least. By the time Chixie got back from visiting Mallek, Zebruh had left. Not to say he had just left well enough alone — he’d been messaging her not long after she stepped out.

THECODAKKEFFECT began chatting with lyricalfirebrand at 0812 AST (2312 AUT)

Zebruh

Babe, you been a loooong time. ♠Hope you didn’t get all silly headed and forget about me.♠

Zebruh

We should get together today, just you and me. ♥Go do something fun.♥   
I miss you, babe.

Zebruh

♠Hey, can you check your messages already?!♠   
I just wanted to know how you’re doing.   
I’m gonna go hive for a bit and take a fucking nap.   
♥Call me when you get a chance.♥   
♠Just don’t take so fucking long this time.♠

At the very least he’d stopped after that. Probably drank himself to sleep and that was fine… he wasn’t here with her, so she couldn’t care less what he did with himself. Honestly, she hoped he’d drop in the bottle and never come out again — never show up on her doorstep right before the bright hours and claim he just lost track of time and needed someplace to stay over-day. Because of course that was never just staying over. It always had to be something more.

So Chixie sat in the living room of her respiteblock and she thought about ways she could get away with killing him.

It wasn’t a serious exercise — there was no way she’d actually get away with killing someone so much higher on the hemospectrum — but it was a cathartic one. All the times he forced himself into her quadrants in ways that she couldn’t stand… because he kept claiming her could help her and she needed that. Because she didn’t want to go offworld — couldn’t go offworld. Couldn’t lose what she had… couldn’t face…

A soft squeak from the foot of her chair and Chixie looked down to see her lusus standing there. The lusus was a small ground squirrel — only standing about a foot tall and staring up at Chixie inquisitively. She’d obviously been hiding from when Zebruh showed up. Squirrelmom hated him, and Chixie couldn’t blame her for it.

“Yeah, well… he’s gone for right now,” Chixie said quietly. “I think he’s probably gone and passed out back hive.”

Squirrelmom cocked her head and chirped at her.

“Don’t say that.” _I hope he doesn’t wake up too._ “Look, let’s get you something to eat.”

The answering chirps sounded reproachful.

“Fine, we’ll _both_ get something to eat. I know, I know.” Chixie stood up and walked to the kitchen to get the bag of Doctor Goodfood’s Goodtime Squirrel Chow (for Squirrels!) from the locked cabinet that she kept it in. She poured a bowl for Squirrelmom and rummaged through the cabinets for something for herself. The only thing she could find was dry grubflakes.

“Fuck it.” She poured some into an identical bowl to the one with Squirrelmom’s food. Taking the two bowls in hand, she walked back to the chair and sat down, placing one bowl on the floor. Squirrelmom ran over and eagerly began eating the dried pellets, crunching happily along. Chixie picked at her own food, taking a couple well-placed bites to reassure Squirrelmom that her diet consisted of something other than pure alcohol.

“See, I’m eating! You don’t have to worry so much!”

Squirrelmom chirped in a way that somehow suggested both satisfaction _and_ stern disapproval.

“I’m almost ten sweeps! I can—” She stopped abruptly.

That was the problem, wasn’t it? Another couple perigees and she would, in spite of everything she’d been doing in the music scene, be expected to join the Alternian military. Realistically for someone of her blood, that meant the Army. And when you joined the military…

She looked down at Squirrelmom and Chixie was already starting to cry. Squirrelmom looked up with a worried expression and Chixie shook her head.

“It’s fine. We’re gonna figure this one out. Zebruh said he can get me a deferral or an exemption. Because of my music. He’s been on deferral for a sweep already, so I know he’s not lying! Mallek was wrong… he wasn’t lying.”

The answering squeaks were laden with skepticism. Chixie frowned.

“No, that’s not true. He wouldn’t do that… wouldn’t just _lie_ like that.” _What are you talking about? Of course he would! He does it all the time!_

Squirrelmom seemed to share her internal conflict on the matter, but Chixie shook her head again, more insistently than before. “I’m grown up now — I can figure this out for myself. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this is something I’m choosing for myself.”

This time, there wasn’t an answering squeak or chirp — only a look of pained concern. It looked like Squirrelmom was about to start crying. Chixie sighed. “Please don’t do this. He’s not… he’s not all bad. He can be nice sometimes. He was nice before. I just… he just…”

What was she even trying to say? Chixie bent over and started to sob heavily… and almost jumped when she felt the light pat of Squirrelmom jumping up into her lap. She reached out and scratched the lusus on the back, trying her best to smile through the tears. Squirrelmom chittered softly, and Chixie sighed again.

“I’m doing it because I want to. If I wanted to stop… I could.” _But you DON’T want to. He makes you feel uncomfortable. You don't feel safe._ “Don’t give me that look.”

Squirrelmom conveyed it all with another look — she respected Chixie’s autonomy but she didn’t want to see her getting hurt anymore.

“He’s not hurting me. He never, like… hits me or anything.” _Except that one time._ “It’s fine. It’s mostly fine. You know what’ll happen if I don’t do this! I don’t have the connections to make this happen myself! Everyone in the scene — they see me as just some lowblood with a bit of talent. The one they can use to make the other rusties feel like they’ve got the possibility of being something special. It’s all a fucking scam!”

This time, Squirrelmom didn’t say anything. She looked hurt, and slid off Chixie’s lap to continue eating her food. Chixie didn’t want to hurt her feelings — didn’t want to see her sad. But the lusus didn’t understand why she was doing this. Didn’t understand _why_ she put up with Zebruh’s creepy behavior — why she let him put his hands on her when she’d rather keep the red and black quadrants empty in the first place.

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered to herself, wiping her eyes and trying desperately not to keep crying in front of Squirrelmom. Wordlessly, Chixie stood up and carried the mostly-full bowl of grubflakes to the kitchen, where she promptly deposited the contents in the waste chute and tossed the bowl in the sink. She was about to head back to the chair — maybe try to take a nap and forget about all this for a few hours — when she was hit with a sudden and unignorable impulse. She took out her palmhusk.

lyricalfirebrand began chatting with snakeBytes at 1702 AST (0802 AUT)

Chixie

hey i’ve got a question for you / a serious question   
i’ll try to ask in a way that’s safe / safe for both of us   
did you actually plan any of this out? / you know what i mean

Mallek

i’m not sure that i do;   
= this directed at me specifically or the council of tetrarchs generally?;   
the council which absolutely != a thing and i don’t know what that =;

Chixie

i mean everything that’s happening now / did you plan this?   
is there an actual idea of what comes next / or are you just playing by ear?

Mallek

oh there = a plan;   
just maybe…;   
this != quite what we expected;   
or planned for;   
or anticipated;   
or had any way of being ready for;

Chixie

so the answer was no / got it, cool / you could’ve just said that!

With a frustrated grunt, Chixie set the palmhusk down on the counter and looked back into the living room where Squirrelmom was eating her food and occasionally stealing a worried glance at Chixie.

“I’m fine, really. Besides, it’s not him — it’s Mallek. I told you about him — he’s nice. He’s the one who talks about all the theory he’s been reading… the cool one.”

Squirrelmom’s answering chirp sounded happier than before and Chixie blushed.

“Stop it! You know that’s not how I feel about folks!”

Another chirp — inquisitive.

“No, I’m not pale for him either! Stop it!” Chixie smiled in spite of herself. She knew that Squirrelmom was trying her best and it was hard to be in her position. Still… it beat the alternative. Chixie felt her stomach dropping out at the thought of it.

The palmhusk vibrated, buzzing on the counter and lighting up with the name of the caller… and Chixie’s stomach kept falling. _He_ was calling her. She could just ignore it — let it go to voicemail and maybe claim she was on the gaper. But if she didn’t answer, then maybe he’d come over earlier than usual and… Chixie groaned to herself and picked up the palmhusk.

“What’s up?” She tried her best to sound casual — as if she hadn’t been casually pondering how she could kill him and get away with it a few minutes earlier.

Zebruh’s voice was thick on the other end of the call — it sounded like he’d been drinking… or maybe he’d just woken up. But he _did_ sound coherent.

“Look, babe, you better pack yourself a bag — you’ve got places to go.”

Chixie felt herself retch — this was it. He’d finally gotten sick of her and he was going to toss her to the snarlbeasts in the Army. They were going to take her away and they were going to cull Squirrelmom and they were going to make her hurt people. Because that was all that they knew how to do! Because that was all anyone on this forsaken planet knew how to do.

The room was getting smaller — was reeling and spinning around her. Chixie reached out and braced herself against the counter. Maybe she could run… maybe she could take Squirrelmom and head out into the wilds. She’d heard about trolls doing that before. Folks who avoided the conscription squads for sweeps at a time. Folks who made their way in the wild places where the Empire’s drones didn’t even bother to look. She’d even heard that the Empire basically looked the other way because it wasn’t worth pursuing them.

Even as she considered it, she knew it was a lie. Chixie leaned heavily on the counter and began to sob.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Zebruh’s voice was laden with a contempt that bordered on disgust. “I tell you you’ve got a gig and this is the thanks I get? I swear to Empress I don’t understand why I do so much for you, Chix. You’re so damn emotional all the time.”

Chixie blinked the tears away and in place of the gut-wrenching terror she felt a deep and abiding confusion.

“A… gig?” It was all she could manage to say without starting to cry again.

“Yes a fucking gig. Empress alive, have you been drinking again?”

_No — you weren’t over so I didn’t really need to._

“No, I’m sorry… I just must’ve misheard you or something. You know how I get.” She ended the sentence with a short laugh that she hoped sounded less forced over the palmhusk.

He laughed back — that was good… she didn’t want him to suspect just how deeply she hated talking to him. Not until she knew that she and Squirrelmom were both safe.

“Look,” he said, “you know how there was that bombing yesterday? Well, one of the clowns — shit, I’m being modest for no reason… fucking Marvus Xoloto himself reached out cause I guess there’s a rustie that survived and he wants to take her on tour… show everyone how unbreakable the Empire’s spirit is or some shit like that. He reached out to me personally cause he knows I know all the best rustie talent… all the really authentic shit.”

Chixie doubted that half of this was true, but she kept her mouth shut and let him keep talking.

“So I told him about your thing and he said he might’ve heard of you and your whole deal so…”

Chixie’s stomach twisted again — did that mean he knew about what she did on the side? The other, less public version of her performances? The ones that called the Empire out for what they did?

_No, if he knew about that you’d already be culled._

“...and now you’ve got the gig.” Chixie realized that she’d spaced out for the last bit of what he said.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked.

He groaned on the other end of the line. “God, you’re so airheaded sometimes. I was just saying he wants you to open for him on the little promo tour he’s doing. He’s gonna fly to a few different cities and end the tour here in Everdim since the place the bomb hit wasn’t far from here.”

“Oh… okay… sounds great!” Chixie finished with a cheeriness that she didn’t feel at all.

“Cool. I’ll let the clown know. Actually, I already told him you’d be down for it but you know… whatever. See you soon, babe.”

_Never would be too soon for me._ “Yeah, you too Zebs,” Chixie tried to giggle and it sounded more like a choked sob, but Zebruh didn’t notice — he’d already hung up.

She looked down at Squirrelmom, who had just finished her meal in the living room.

“Look, you… I’m gonna be going out for a few days for a gig. And I don’t want you to worry about me, okay? This is a big deal.”

It wasn’t exactly an _untrue_ statement, but it _was_ a loaded one.

“Seriously,” she said, seeing Squirrelmom’s expression. “I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll be fine.”


	8. Implication Theater

the 2nd day…

The Southern Caverns - 2314 local time (1414 AUT)

She wasn’t a stranger to sneaking out of the caverns, but this time it was going to be different. This time there wasn’t going to be any debate on the subject — wasn’t going to be any lectures from Bronya on her duty as a jade. No stern looks from Lynera to read vaguely-implied pitch undertones into. Because this time, Daraya Jonjet wasn’t going to be coming back.

Daraya had heard whispers of the rebellion — everyone with even a passing interest in making things better had. But actual facts were harder to come by, even the point of obscuring any grain of truth behind so many layers of rumors that what the rebellion actually _was_ — if it was anything at all — had crossed into the realm of mythology.

She’d actually met a few people that styled themselves as great revolutionary thinkers through the music and underground art scene… but it always struck Daraya as being extremely safe. It was the kind of thing that the Empire continued to allow to exist because it didn’t really cause any harm and let folks blow off some steam. But this new thing — the bombing — that didn’t feel safe. In fact, it felt dangerous in a way that was random and terrifying.

There was one person that Daraya felt that she could actually trust to give her a straight answer. One person who seemed to exist outside of the poser/fanatic dichotomy that seemed to be common among self-styled rebels.

waywardspirit began chatting with snakeBytes at 2321 AST (1421 AUT)

Daraya

▼Hey, snakeBitch, you still up?▲   
▼▼I got some shit I need to ask you right the fuck now.▼▼

Mallek

Shouldn’t you be in bed?;   
Don’t you have to grubsit in the evening or something?;   
Go back to your wiggler shit already;

Daraya

▼Oh go fuck off.▼   
▼Seriously I need to know — did you have anything to do with that shit?▼

Mallek

Don’t know what you’re talking about;   
This != a conversation we’re having;

Daraya

▼▼▼DON’T PLAY WITH ME!▼▼▼   
▼Please...▼   
▼We’re all fucking terrified.▼

Mallek

Fine;   
I didn’t have anything to do with it;   
I don’t even know who did;

Daraya

▲Good...▲   
▲Because I’m coming to you▼

Daraya pocketed the palmhusk and kept packing without waiting for a response. It didn’t take long to get her things together — she didn’t have much to her name and she’d always expected that she might have to drop and run eventually. She wasn’t naive about the expected outcome for jades, and the idea of spending a lifetime in some spacebound cloister with a bunch of other jades she didn’t even know was… unappealing.

She almost jumped when she heard Lynera’s voice. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”

Daraya turned and glared at her fellow jade — she was still wearing that damn sweater vest even though it was almost time to turn in for the day. Did this bitch ever relax?

Lynera frowned and a crease ran across her brow. “You’re running away, aren’t you? Not just going out for the day… you’re not coming back, are you?”

“What if I’m not,” Daraya snapped back. “What’re you planning to do? You gonna go snitch me out to Bronya? You think she’ll finally notice how fucking red you are for her if you tell on me?”

There was a sharp intake of breath — Lynera sounded like the comment genuinely hurt her feelings. She chewed on her bottom lip and began to tug at the corner of her sweater vest quickly. “Stop it! I’m not going to tell on you, but you shouldn’t be doing this!”

Daraya rolled her eyes and continued to check her room for anything she needed to take with her. As Lynera watched, she quickly rummaged through her small desk, pushing aside bits of paper and half-broken pencils. As she shoved everything aside, a faded photograph poked out from the sea of debris. A version of Daraya and a version of Lynera beamed out of that photo together — Lynera with her hands clasped in front of her with a nervousness that matched her smiled… and Daraya with her arms around Lynera’s shoulders, smiling broadly.

Daraya took the photo and stared at it for a second.

“What happened to you?” Daraya asked, glaring up at Lynera. “Since when did your entire life become about how much you want to fuck Bronya?”

Lynera’s face burst into a jade flush and she clutched at her sweater. “That’s not true!”

“What, you don’t want to fuck her?” Daraya raised an eyebrow. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“No! That’s not it! I don’t make it my entire…” she seemed to realize what she was implying mid-sentence and looked like she was about to start crying. “It’s none of your business! I just think that these are times when it’s more important than ever to pull together as fellow jades. We have such an important duty to attend to and we can be there to keep our world stable when…”

She looked down at her feet and trailed off. Daraya nodded and looked back at the photo. _When was this taken? A couple sweeps ago? What changed…_

Daraya felt a tingle run across her spine. _You know one thing._

“You know it’s not gonna work like that!” Daraya’s voice was on the verge of shouting. “You and I both know perfectly well what could happen if this ends up on our doorstep… is that something you’ve shared with your flushed crush?”

Lynera closed her eyes and tears started dripping down her cheeks. Part of Daraya felt satisfied to see the stuffy jade breaking down like this… and part of her felt a stab in her heart because of it. _No, fuck this shit — she put this on herself._

Lynera’s response was muttered — “Why are you like this? Why are you always so _mean_ to me?”

“I’m not mean to you — you’re always up our waste chutes about everything. You’re always so fucking critical of everything I do… and I never asked for any of this shit. Fucking… Lynera, if you’re pitch for me just fucking say so and we’ll do this right now.” She laughed at her own joke.

Lynera started sobbing. “I didn’t say that! I just want us to be able to support each other! You and I both know how important it is!”

“No,” Daraya snapped back. “I’m not fucking doing this. I’m not sticking around to see what happens when the Empire sends soldiers to start poking around and finds all our fucking secrets. You know they’d already have a problem with Bronya’s little sopor pool nursery… what do you think they’d think about what we tucked away in the deep cavern?”

It didn’t seem like there was anything Lynera could say — she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and sniffled loudly. “I used to feel so differently about you, Daraya. I used to really look up to you because you were so confident and you seemed to know exactly what to do but… that’s not true, is it? You’re just as scared as me. Maybe even more.”

“Look, just… shut the fuck up…” Daraya grumbled it as she took the photo and stuffed it into her pocket.

“I already said I’m not going to stop you… but I’m asking you to stay.” Lynera closed her eyes and sighed, her shoulders rising and falling quickly. “I know you hate me… and I don’t mean in a pitch way before you make another off-color joke.”

Daraya blushed and quickly turned away. “Yeah. Exactly.”

“But I don’t want you to go off and die somewhere. No matter how you feel about me or Bronya or our cloister… you’re still one of us.” She shook her head and opened her eyes, looking at Daraya. She was still crying.

Daraya tried to laugh it all off — “Shit, you pale for me now too? _Flushed?_ Careful — maybe Bronya’ll be jealous.”

“I think you’re talking to me like this because you’re hurting too.” Something about the way she said it — the plain, matter-of-fact way that was devoid of the usual condescending air of judgement. Daraya felt her face growing warm — she grit her teeth.

“Fuck you and fuck off. I’ve made up my mind. Go tell Bronya or don’t because I don’t give a shit anymore.”

Lynera shook her head. “I already said I wouldn’t.” Her tone was almost… defeated?

“Well… fucking good.” Daraya grabbed the bag that she’d packed herself, took the long cloak that she wore out in the daylight from the rack by the door, and pushed past Lynera without a second glance.

Behind her, she could’ve sworn she heard a sob.

* * *

The Diver, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0356 AST (1756 AUT)

It took almost four hours walking under the blistering Alternian sun to get into the city and make her way to the Diver. She’d been there maybe twice before — the couple times she’d met Mallek and Cirava in person. Usually it was something bigger — underground concerts and stuff. The Diver was more personal — more real.

The sun didn’t necessarily bother Daraya all that much — she’d apparently inherited the somewhat-common jade blood trait of an innate resistance to it. The cloak she wore helped too — with the additional bonus of concealed her identity fairly well. Not that anyone was really out in the daytime — it was almost always deserted.

She knocked at the door, not even bothering with the pattern.

“Open the fuck up! I know you’re in there!”

After a few minutes, the little window in the door slid open and she could see Cirava’s eye staring at her. Well, they were still there in any case. They looked a little bit like they’d just woken up.

“Let me the fuck in,” she said tersely. Cirava shook their head.

“You know the deal,” they said in a low voice. “I can’t just _let you in._ ”

Daraya rolled her eyes at them. “You don’t know who I am? I don’t know who you are, sorry. No one knows the fucking nook-licking Signless.”

“That’s not exactly—”

She growled. “Just let me the fuck in. I need to talk to Mallek.”

For a second, she was sure that they were actually going to turn her away. Was sure that she’d come in way too hot this time — made an ass of herself and she was going to have to slink back to the caverns. But she wasn’t going to do that — she’d rather live in the abandoned outskirts than go back and face Lynera’s condescending scorn.

_She seemed more sad than condescending, if you’re really honest with yourself._ Daraya closed that thought and everything it implied off and narrowed her eyes.

“I walked away from the caverns and I’m not going back and I need to talk to Mallek. I know that whatever the fuck’s happening could be big and I don’t… fuck… can you please just let me inside? It’s hot as a damn blast thruster out here.”

“Fine,” Cirava rolled their eye at her and she heard a loud click as the deadbolt was drawn back. The door opened to reveal the invitingly cool interior of the Diver and Daraya stepped in. “Mallek’s in the back. If you’re done being a bitch to me, I’m going back to sleep.”

They flipped her a quick middle finger and walked off to one of the other rooms off the main hallway without another word. Daraya walked toward the back, to the room she knew Mallek used as a kind of command center… if that was even the right word for such a slipshod outfit.

Mallek wasn’t asleep — in fact, he was hunched over a monitor and keyboard and typing furious. From the look on his face, it didn’t seem like he’d been sleeping much at all the last couple days.

“Hey, bulge-munch,” Daraya said from the doorway. Mallek’s head snapped up and he groaned.

“Oh fucking hell why did they let _you_ in. I’m really not in the mood for your stupid snark right now.”

Daraya walked in and tossed her cloak on the closest chair before perching on the edge of the table. Mallek looked annoyed by this in particular, but he didn’t say anything.

“Please tell me you can talk about your stupid fucking rebellion,” she said. “I’m getting really tired of not knowing _anything_ even when things are popping off like this. You can’t honestly tell me you have _no fucking clue_ who set off that bomb.”

He looked up at her and immediately looked away.

“Oh my fucking bulge… you honestly don’t, do you?!”

Mallek frowned. “That’s not fair — I’ve been working with some sources who think they can help identify who was responsible. And if they’re honestly revolutionaries and not some kind of Alternian Army counter-intelligence thing, then…”

“You’ll what? Invite them to have brunch with you? I swear you’re such a fucking highblood sometimes. Who the hell are these sources, anyway?”

“I can’t say exactly,” he shook his head. But from where she was sitting on the edge of the table, Daraya could see his monitor — and she recognized one of the icons and names that popped up.

“Wait, you’re talking to _her?_ But you won’t give me more than a vague statement every fucking perigee. What the fuck?”

Mallek glared at her and turned the monitor so she couldn’t see it anymore. “You think that coming to some secret concerts makes you part of the inner circle? Why? Because I’ve let you in here. This isn’t even really a secret, just… more secret than not.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. And I think if you’re trying to get something out of fucking _gaegrl69nice_ you’re off your fucking pan.” _I can’t believe she calls herself that online like a goddamn wiggler who just discovered she had a bulge — she’s three sweeps older than me and how did I ever have a crush on her?_

“Who I decide to talk to is none of your business, and I don’t need your misplaced concern. Why don’t you go play the Dolorosa somewhere else?” Mallek looked back to the computer screen and shrugged. “I’ve got shit to do.”

“I told you I’m not going back to the caverns. I’m not facing Bronya and her damn sycophant again.”

Mallek shrugged again. “Cool. Not my problem what you do.”

She sighed. _I don’t want to tell him, but…_

“Look, you talk a lot about how much you’re committed to this thing but… what if I told you there was something big about this whole thing you don’t understand. Someone no one knows about but… fuck… fuck fuck fuck.” Daraya balled up a fist tight enough that her nails dug into her palms. _I do NOT want to tell him._

But if it was a choice between than and going back to the caverns?

“There’s a reason I don’t want to go back, and it could mean a whole fucking lot if things start really going off.”

He wasn’t typing on the computer anymore — he was looking up with a barely-disguised curiosity.

“Okay…” his voice was hesitant, but he was intrigued. “If you’ve got something genuine — something really useful — then I’ll let you stick around and help out. But this had better be pretty fucking good.”

Daraya smiled — it wasn’t a gesture of happiness. “Oh, it’s… it’s a lot.”

She leaned forward… and for the first time she told one other person something she and Lynera had been keeping to themselves for a sweep.


	9. The Ballad of Wasted Youth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter depicts implied consensual, non-explicit sexual activity between two adults. If you would like to skip this, please skip from the second line break to the third.

the 3rd night…

Somewhere over Northern Alternia - 1432 local time (1732 AUT)

The scream of the engines in the Imperial airship hurt Tyzias’ ears — she had tried unsuccessfully to block it out with earplugs but the noise had a way of burrowing its way inside her head. So she leaned up against Stelsa in the adjacent seat and closed her eyes tightly as if it would somehow help.

“Stels… what the fuck are we doing up here?” She groaned, put her palms to her eyes, and pressed in. She felt like she wanted to vomit… and it wasn’t just any one thing. It was everything all at once — the vibration and the sound and the lack of sleep and the general avalanche of hoofbeast shit that wouldn’t stop.

Stelsa smiled and put her head up against Tyzias’. “We’re doing our job, Zizi.”

“We’re following a fucking clown on a goddamn… I don’t know what this is.”

“Shh,” Stelsa reached out and brushed Tyzias’ cheek. “It’s fine. We’ll be on the ground in a couple hours.”

Tyzias groaned again and leaned over, pushing into Stelsa’s hand and smiling. They’d been caught up in something of a whirlwind over the last couple days. With no actual evidence left at the scene of the bombing, no information provided by intelligence, and precisely one survivor who’d been there directly… the whole situation was basically hanging around until something else happened.

It hadn’t gotten better when Marvus Xoloto showed up at the base with an indigo blood and a rust blood singer that Tyzias thought looked vaguely familiar from somewhere. The clown had immediately taken charge and informed both Stelsa and Tyzias that they were now working with him and that they would be expected to travel with the group for an unspecified period of time. They’d all be shuffled off to an airship and blasted toward Northern Alternia and points unknown.

Tyzias wasn’t going to lie — she had no fucking _clue_ where this was going. The clown wasn’t going to say anything, and Skylla had gone into one of the airship’s respite cubes and been asleep ever since they’d lifted off.

She opened her eyes and fished the palmhusk out of her pocket.

“I’m gonna check in with Sore-gore — I’ll add you to the group,” Tyzias said with a groan.

ferventnihilist opened a group chat with bettercallgorgor and s_sezyat at 1437 ANT (1737 AUT)

Tyzias

okay gor-gor wwwwhat’s the wwwword?

Tagora

An intensely vague statement if ever I heard one.   
What specifically are you looking for an answer on. *_________

Tyzias

fucking sore-gore shut the fuck up   
you knowwww wwwwhat i mmmmean   
did legiscorpus tell you anything?   
wwwwhat are wwwwe supposed to be doing?

Stelsa

I HAVE TO AGREE WITH ZIZI   
WE HAVE RECEIVED NO DIRECTION ON THIS   
HOW DO YOU EXPECT US TO INVESTIGATE LIKE THIS?

Tagora

Oh for fuck’s sake stop trying to do this, you two.   
I’m just as much a part of this as you.   
You think, what, I like doing this?! *_________

Tyzias

wwwwell wwwwhat are wwwwe supposed to do for nowwww?   
just hang out wwwwith the clowwwwn?

Tagora

I honestly do not give a shit.   
Just as long as nothing comes back to me on this. *_________

Tyzias let out a wordless groan and leaned heavily against Stelsa. “Stels… what the fuck are we even doing up here?”

“You already asked me that, darling. I don’t think my answer’s changed in the last five minutes.” She smiled at Tyzias. “You impatience remains as legendary as ever.”

Tyzias crooked an eyebrow. “Are you getting pitch with me, Stels?” _Why the fuck is that what’s on your mind right now? People are dead!_ And what did that matter? People were dead every single day. A few people they knew… a lot more people they didn’t. That was just the way that life went, and every day since they’d gone off planet had been an exercise in learning to ignore it.

“So what if I am? What are you planning to do about it?” She curled her fingers and dug her nails into the side of Tyzias’ neck — just enough to feel it, but not enough to really hurt. Tyzias felt herself blush and she fidgeted uncomfortably. Suddenly, the thrum of the airship’s engines seemed a lot less overwhelming and her mind wasn’t on the pain in her head anymore.

“Fuck,” Tyzias muttered to herself. Stelsa smiled at her and dug her nails in just the slightest bit more.

“Yes… that was the implication.”

* * *

The respite cubes on the airship were like small pods off of a central hallway, based on a design used for starship crews. They didn’t have sopor and they were tiny, but they _did_ have adequate padding and room to hold two people, if only in the most technical sense of the word. They’d somehow made it work — going from something very pitch to something very red and finally just holding each other in the cramped space and panting and sweating. And Tyzias couldn’t help but think one again that there was definitely something to be said for the whole vacillation thing.

She kept her eyes closed and pressed herself up against Stelsa’s chest, listening to the sound of her blood pusher and breathing deeply. The noise inside the respite cube was better — the roar of the thrust engines dulled down to a tolerable rumble that was almost soothing. It wouldn’t be so bad to stay here until they got where they were going. How long had it been since they’d just been able to enjoy being in each other’s company without anything hanging over them?

Not that it was true. Vague leadership or not, the commanders would be watching carefully what they were doing. Which meant that there was no way to relax because everything was, as always, being scrutinized in every minute detail.

“I’m tired of this.” Tyzias didn’t say anything more — just wrapped her arms around Stelsa and squeezed.

“Zizi, what do you mean?” Stelsa returned the embrace and, at least for this moment, Tyzias felt safe.

“I mean I’m tired. I’m tired of being sent around like any of this matters or means anything. And I’ve… I just keep thinking back to some of the stuff I’ve read.”

“Zizi…” She knew exactly what the implication here was — her tone was heavy-laden with concern.

“I’m not a secret revolutionary, Stels — don’t worry about me. But I can’t stop thinking that this doesn’t make any goddamn sense. Why blow up a bunch of recruits? What possible good does that accomplish? What principle or whatever does that endorse? They were just going to die in a few sweeps out on the Frontier anyway.”

She felt Stelsa kiss her neck — warm and soft and very, very _red._ Tyzias sighed.

“I know that you’re worried, darling,” Stelsa’s voice was quiet. “I know that you’re not sure what to do and we’re both trying to sort everything out. But if you keep your head down and keep pushing forward, maybe you can make a difference. Even if it’s a small difference.”

She was right… but she was also wrong. Tyzias wasn’t sure how to explain it, but there was a sense of deeply seated discomfort in the words. Something that she hadn’t truly considered before.

Stelsa kept talking, her voice a low murmur in Tyzias’ ear — “Times are uncertain enough as it is. The new Empress just on the throne into her third sweep… the High Imperator’s support for her… it was a lot of upheaval and now everyone is even more scared than usual. But we have a place in this — we have the ability to shift things from where we are and make things better.”

“Mmm…” Tyzias breathed in slowly and tucked herself closer to Stelsa. She ran her hand down her matesprit’s side, letting her fingertips linger gently on each of the grub scars in turns. Stelsa murmured her assent.

A long pause — Tyzias let her hand stay on Stelsa’s hip and felt another kiss on her neck. If she could stay in this kind of moment forever, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

“Nothing’s really changed,” Tyzias started talking and she couldn’t stop herself — she thought for a brief moment that maybe the respite cube could be wired for surveillance but… this airship was originally intended for high bloods. They had at least the benefit of some privacy. “It doesn’t matter who’s on top of things as long as someone’s on top. That’s how it’s been since before we were even hatched. Since… since the fucking Summoner…”

Stelsa sucked in a sharp breath — a sudden noise of shock and surprise. “You really shouldn’t talk like that.”

“Why? What are they going to do? Fucking… kill me.” Tyzias laughed — a bitter, hollow sound that she found disturbing to hear coming out of her own mouth. _When did I end up like this? Was I ever NOT like this?_

Stelsa’s nose was pressed up against her neck… Stelsa was crying softly. She pushed herself up against Tyzias — like she was trying to be as close to her as physically possible. Tyzias’ hands lingered on the grub scars again — those little teal-tinted reminders of the fact that they were all hatched into a specific role in life. That would never change.

“Can you not talk about that. Just… please don’t talk about it.” Her voice quivered as she spoke and she was trembling — holding on tighter and bunching herself against Tyzias.

“Why?” Tyzias asked, shocked by the bluntness of it. “What does it matter? Whether we last this out another sweep or another hundred sweeps… what does it matter? What do we spend our days doing? Chasing the same shit down? Keeping the same gears turning?”

“What’s gotten into you?” Stelsa murmured into the crook of her neck. “I thought you were excited about going offworld.”

“I was…” _And I wasn’t._

Tyzias sighed heavily. She didn’t know what else to say — wasn’t even sure what had gotten into her. It was like everything decided to hit her all at once.

“I don’t like it either, but it’s what’s necessary. We both understand that… that’s why we’re both doing our part for the Empire.” Stelsa sounded like she didn’t quite believe it herself. Tyzias sighed again and reached up to put a hand on the back of Stelsa’s head.

“I love you, Stels.”

A long silence. A long pause where nothing moved and nothing was said. Tyzias swore she could hear Stelsa’s blood pusher speeding up and her breathing grew shallow.

“Y...you…” she whispered. “You can’t say that. You pity me and sometimes you hate me and… god… why are you _like_ this?!” She was sobbing softly… and all of a sudden Tyzias wanted to take it back.

_I meant it._

Stelsa spoke again — insistent — almost panicked. “Don’t say that around anyone, okay? Someone will tell a Quadrant Auditor and… you know that’s not going to end well. They’ll do something vile like re-assign you to some colony post for sweeps.”

“It bothers you that I feel that way?” Tyzias asked.

Another long silence. Her blood pusher was still thudding along at considerably more than its normal rate.

“No.”

And then one final pause. Longer than before, with only the sound of their breathing whispering in the tiny fraction of space between their bodies.

It was a whisper — the quietest whisper that Tyzias had ever heard her use. So uncharacteristic for her matesprit…

“I love you too.” She nuzzled down into Tyzias’ neck and kissed her again. “Please don’t say it around the wrong people. I can’t do that, Zizi… I can’t do it.”

A rough knock at the door to the respite cube — Tyzias felt her blood pusher jump. _Someone heard me!_ But that was absurd — and the knock came with a polite beat of silence after, followed by a soft voice on the other side.

“If you’re both done with your business in there, Mr. Xoloto wants to see you.”

Tyzias rolled over and opened the door just a crack — it was level with the padding they were lying on and it wasn’t hard to do. Through the sliver of light, she could see an olive blood wearing an Army sergeant’s uniform. The olive blood had a chunk knocked out of one horn — it didn’t seem to bother her any, but it certainly made her distinctive. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the two of them, but didn’t comment specifically.

“Whenever you’re dressed, I’ll take you to see him.”

* * *

Out of the respite cube, the noise of the airship was pressing down on Tyzias again. Fortunately, the break she’d taken with Stelsa had, in fact, helped a fair amount. The noise had gotten to the point of “tolerable” even without the earplugs in.

Their escort… her name tape said her last name was Goezee and her insignia said she was a sergeant in the Alternian Army… but that was all Tyzias knew about her. She led them down the corridors of the airship, passing various side passages and cabin doors marked with various color-coded placards… finally arriving at an ornate door. This was the highest of the high class cabins.

“You can go inside,” the sergeant said dismissively. “Be polite to Mr. Xoloto and don’t cause trouble.” He hand drifted down towards the Army service pistol that was strapped to her hip. The meaning was clear enough.

Once they were through the door, the noise of the airship dropped off — the cabin must’ve been soundproofed. It was well furnished, with a large desk in one corner and a full living room setup in one corner by a massive viewscreen. There was a full recupercoon in the corner, large enough to fit a massive troll.

Tyzias knew Marvus Xoloto by reputation and from the video shows, so she wasn’t surprised to see how truly massive the purple blood was. Still, being actually in his presence was a lot more intimidating that seeing him on the video screen. He towered over either of them, even from across the room, and wore a brilliant purple suit that looked like it cost about what Tyzias made in a perigee or four. Tyzias swallowed against a dry throat. Before she could say anything, Stelsa reached out and softly squeezed her hand.

Stelsa spoke first — “Mr. Xoloto, sir. You asked to see us?”

Marvus turned around and smiled broadly at them, showing twin lines of perfectly white, sharp teeth. He walked up to them and clapped them both on the shoulder.

“Of course! My new favorite folks in the whole damn world, I think.” The smile somehow stayed even as he opened his mouth to talk. “I’d ask your name but that’d be fuckin pointess-ass shit. Initiate Stelsa Sezyat and her matesprit Neophyte Tyzias Entykk. Both actin on behalf of the Legiscorpus in the course of this investigation.” He shrugged and threw up his hands. “Course, that shit’s less than nothin to me. Call me Marvus. You mind if I call you Stelsa and Tyzias? Good.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. And despite the good cheer in his voice — maybe _because_ of the good cheer in his voice — Tyzias didn’t trust him. She knew very little about the purple bloods other than their reputation for randomly culling lower bloods for the very fun of it. The stories were key… you didn’t fuck with the clowns.

“Anyhow, I invited you two pretty things here to talk about what I expect from you. See, I know you’re supposed to be investigatin’ the bomb and all that but… let’s face it, we know that won’t be dug out by you two. The idea of sending a Neophyte and an Initiate. It’s a fuckin’ joke is what it is.” His voice took on a bitter tone and he shook his head. A troll lower down the hemospectrum could be culled for saying those things, but he wasn’t a troll lower down the hemospectrum.

“Well?” Marvus said, raising his eyebrows. “Let me know your thoughts.”

Stelsa cleared her throat. “We got very little out of the survivor from the bombing. Beyond that we have no leads and no one has claimed responsibility.”

Marvus looked over at Tyzias and cocked his head — Tyzias swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to smile before she responded. “That’s pretty much it. There’s nothing to investigate because it’s all been vaporized.”

He nodded at them. “Right — so we all get to sit around playin’ with our bulges and wait for our mystery friends to fuck us some more… or…” He winked in an exaggerated fashion. “We get the fuck out ahead of this shit.”

While he was talking, Marvus walked over to the desk and picked up a series of pages he’d apparently been writing notes on. “Y’see, we got us a nice opportunity to show the indomitable motherfuckin spirit of the Alternian Empire. That lady that survived — Skylla or whatever — she goes on a little tour to tell everyone how those bastard terrorists killed all her friends and some bullshit. Doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll toss in some shit about her matesprit being in one of the other barracks or something. That might be playin it up too much.”

It was clear that he was mostly talking to himself, but Tyzias stood stock-still and waited for him to address them directly.

“So that brings me to you two — you’re matesprits and shit, right?” In response, both Tyzias and Stelsa quickly nodded. “Good. Fuckin great. So you know how to work well together — which is good, because as of right the fuck now you work directly for me. Doin what, you might be wonderin. The answer is… don’t ask fucking questions.” He smiled, but there was no humor in it.

Marvus strode back to the desk and set the papers back down. “That’s all I needed from you. You can go back to fuckin or whatever you were doing before — we’ve still got a couple hours before we’re in Shadowrock. We’ve got our first performance at dawn, so get your shit straight and clean before we dock.”


	10. Opening Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter depicts an abusive person being very creepy towards their partner. If this is uncomfortable to you, skip to the first scene break.
> 
> The song "Ballad of a Drone Maintenance Worker" is intended to be a somewhat bluesy folk song, played primarily on acoustic guitar.

the 3rd day…

Imperial Theater, Shadowrock, Northern Alternia - 1830 local time (2130 AUT)

The Shadorock Imperial Theater was a massive, imposing structure built as a monument to the efficiency and elegance of Alternian Imperial culture. It was built by Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty Trizza Tethis in the first sweep of her reign, to celebrate her victory over the former Empress, whose name and likeness were stricken from the historic record forever. The Theater itself was host to any number of important cultural events and featured advanced lighting, sound, and blood-drainage technology.

The back of the theater had dressing rooms for some of the performers — mainly intended for high bloods. The low bloods were expected to change in collective dressing rooms, which was something Chixie had already hated.

Except that Marvus had put her in one of the rooms clearly intended for someone significantly higher on the hemospectrum than her. When she’d asked about it, he’d just shrugged and told her _girl, don’t fuckin worry about it_ and that was the end of that. So she was in a dressing room by herself.

Well, not by herself. Of course Zebruh was there with her.

“You know how important this is, right?” Zebruh was pacing back and forth from one end of the room to the other while Chixie tried to put on her stage makeup without accidentally smudging it. He was being extremely distracting, but she didn’t say anything.

“Oh yeah, of course,” she replied with as much cheer as she could manage. “Marvus told me about what’s going on when we were on the airship.”

Zebruh grunted. “Fuck — stop calling him that! Marvus Xoloto is so much more important than you could ever hope to be. Mr. Xoloto would be more respectful.”

She squinted at her own reflection in the mirror. “He told me not to call him that.”

“I don’t fucking care — rusties don’t address high bloods like that. I pity the hell out of you, babe, but you’re a bit on the slow side sometimes.” He made an exasperated noise with his mouth and kept pacing. Chixie went back to trying to put her makeup on — it was getting harder and harder to ignore Zebruh walking around and taking random jabs at her.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’ll do better next time.”

That seemed to satisfy him, because he immediately dropped the subject. “You have your set list all good? I know this was short notice, but it’s really important. Marvus told me that he wants this to be really authentic rustie shit — really salt of Alternia kind of stuff. You should play ‘Ballad of a Drone Maintenance Worker’ to open things up. Just make sure you change some of those lyrics up — use the version we talked about.”

_He told me that to my face what the fuck are you talking about?_ “Sure thing, honey. I’ll make sure to open up with it. You got it.”

“Good. See, babe, isn’t this easier when you just _listen_ to me?” He smiled at her — she could see the reflection in the edge of the mirror and it reminded her of some stalking creature out of a horror video show. “This is a good fucking gig! Hell, you do this and you’ll have your cultural exemption in no time!”

_You’re a fucking liar!_ “So… I meant to ask you about that…” Chixie could hear the hesitation in her own voice — the creeping uncertainty that she felt basically all the time when she was around him these days. “I was wondering if you heard anything more about that. About the deferral, I mean.”

“Yeah, babe, don’t worry about it,” he said quickly. He walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders — she had to fight the urge to flinch away. _Why do I let you touch me?_

“Oh… okay. It’s just…” She wasn’t sure if pushing the issue was wise or not. That had been the problem the last time… and he’d lost his temper. She didn’t want him to lose his temper again. “It’s just that you said you’d be able to tell me more when the bright season was over and… it’s almost sixth perigee and…” She let her voice go off into nothing.

Zebruh made a face that looked like a half-cross between a frown and a scowl. “You’re not doubting me, are you, babe? Because I put a lot into this — I put a lot on the line for you and your music thing. I mean, I doubt the Army would be as understanding as I am… you know?”

She squeezed her shoulders in a way that started to hurt and Chixie squirmed slightly. “I know… it’s just… I’m getting kinda worried. You know how I get!” She punctuated it with a laugh that she hoped made her sound like an idiot. It must’ve worked to at least some degree, because the pressure on her shoulders let up and he reached out and touched her neck gently. She wanted to vomit.

His voice was as smooth and thick as oil. “Don’t you worry about any of that. You just keep making your music and being gorgeous and it’ll be fine. You know how popular your folk stuff is with the rusties, right? God, babe… I envy you sometimes. How you can really connect with them like that.”

_He says all this like he’s not fucking a bronze blood._ And she shivered at that thought — her skin crawled.

“Yeah.” Another nervous laugh and Chixie went to keep putting the makeup on. But Zebruh wasn’t walking away from her — he still had his hand on her neck. Except he was brushing it up softly, toward her jawline. “Honey… I need to put the makeup on… you’ll smudge it and I’ll have to start over again.”

But the feeling of his fingers didn’t let up. He leaned in — his lips getting closer to her neck. “Don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of time.”

This time, she _did_ flinch away from him. She didn’t mean to, but the reflex was almost involuntary. For one brief, wonderful moment she didn’t feel that touch on her skin… and then it was there again, more than before.

“What’s wrong, babe? We’ve got time before the show. And this room is _private._ No one will bother us.” She wasn’t sure if the voice was supposed to be seductive or threatening. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if he made much of a distinction.

“Seriously, I’ve gotta put this one and get ready to tune and warm up my voice. M— Mr. Xoloto will be pissed off if it’s not right.”

Zebruh laughed. “I’ve seen you get ready on shorter notice — stop acting like you have this whole prima thing… you know what you are at the end of the day, right?”

Tears were starting to roll down her cheeks, smearing the makeup. So she’d have to re-do it anyway. _Guess I might as well do what he wants and get this over with._

“Yeah, I know,” she muttered.

“Just a rustie. And I pity you so much, but there’s only so much I can do for you. If you try to run off on your own, who knows what’ll happen?” He ran the fingers down her neck and along her collarbone and she felt a shiver running down her back that was one of the worst things she’d ever felt.

She wished she had one of those large, plastic bottles full of cheap liquor. It would take the edge off, at least. Make things… tolerable. Tolerable was about the best she could hope for, so she tried to always have at least one of those bottles around. She hadn’t had time to grab anything.

“Maybe you could get me something to drink real quick first… you know… loosen up before the show.” She could hear it in her voice — a pleading that she hated. A begging for him to not do this — to actually have some level of compassion for her. He said he pitied her, but that was a lie. He didn’t pity her because she wasn’t convinced he could feel anything for anyone who wasn’t himself.

“Nah, we don’t have time for all that, babe.” Fingers moving to the back of her neck and squeezing — tugging at the base of her hair. _Oh, but we have time for THIS…_

She closed her eyes and tried desperately not to cry.

There was no knock at the door, only the sound of it opening. And a voice from across the dressing room, low and heavy with menace.

“Girl, please tell me you’re ready to warm up. Gotta get those acoustics just right and we’ve only got a couple hours til showtime.”

The touch on her skin vanished immediately as Zebruh stumbled back. Chixie opened her eyes and saw the reflection of Marvus Xoloto in the mirror.

“Sorry, Mr. Xoloto,” she said quietly, “I was just finishing the makeup.”

He shrugged. “No thing, girl. And for real, call me Marvus.” He winked and smiled at her.

Zebruh was backing away from Marvus, smiling in a way that suggested terror rather than happiness. “Oh, hey, Marvus! Good to see you here! She was just… she was just touching herself up and then she was gonna head right out.”

Marvus quirked an eyebrow at him and the easy smile he had before vanished. “Oh, please call my Mr. Xoloto. I think I’ve got something for you to help with in the back of the theater, if you don’t mind going and finding my sound engineer. He’ll have something for you.”

Zebruh nodded and quickly scurried to the back of the room — he didn’t even bother with a backwards glance at Chixie before he ran off to find the sound engineer.

“Girl, you look pretty good. Looks like the makeup got a little smeared around the eyes though. That shit’s the fuckin worst, huh?” She couldn’t believe how he was talking to her — like he was just chatting with a fellow performer rather than someone he had the right to kill with literally no consequences.

She nodded quickly. “Yeah, uh… I just had to fix it and then I was gonna head out to warm up.” She was already wiping at her cheeks with the sponge coated in foundation, working it quickly into her cheeks and covering up the harsh lines where tears had streaked the makeup.

He nodded. “Fuckin righteous, girl. I’ll be on stage when you’re ready to get that shit dialed in.”

* * *

Chixie wasn’t ready for how it would feel to walk out from behind the curtain onto the stage for the first time. Even with the theater empty before the performance, it made her hair stand on end to be on such a large stage in a theater so big that she couldn’t even see the far seats in the shadows. Before this, the biggest venue she’d played had been at an underground concert in an abandoned shopping mall. That wasn’t exactly an officially sanctioned event either, so this was different.

In the center of the stage there was a stool and a microphone setup designed to pick up both her singing and playing a guitar. The guitar was set on a stand next to the stool, probably already tuned by some technician. Standing near all of it was Marvus, looking completely at home in this environment.

He nodded to Chixie as she approached the stool. “Girl, this is the shit. Motherfuckin calm before the storm. You ever played this kind of place before?”

She shook her head.

“It’s fuckin magic. When you hear them all comin alive out there. Better than… y’know, girl.” He winked and gestured to the stool. “Let’s hear what you got.”

Chixie took the guitar and sat down. She quickly checked the tuning by ear — it had definitely been checked by someone before but it wasn’t quite right. Marvus nodded approvingly as she went down a couple scales, making minute adjustments.

“A fuckin professional. Girl, I like you a lot.”

She nodded and smiled at him. Somehow, the nervousness she’d been feeling was dropping away — she was in her element now. This clown was just another performer. Zebruh was off somewhere leaving her the fuck alone. Everything, at least for the next couple hours, was just fine.

“What you gonna play for me?” Marvus sounded… actually enthusiastic about this. Chixie looked up and smiled.

“It’s a song I wrote called ‘Ballad of a Drone Maintenance Worker’ — kind of a sad song, but folks really like hearing it.”

Marvus nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s hear it, girl.”

Without waiting for the energy she had to subside, Chixie played the opening riff of the song… and began to sing. And this time, she didn’t bother to change the lyrics… 

* * *

Empire’s callin’ so I gotta go home   
Empire’s callin’ and I gotta go home   
Home to the place where I belong   
Off of plains and fields of dirt to the rustlands I knew all along   
  
Duty’s callin’ so I gotta go home   
Duty’s callin’ and I gotta go home   
Home to the place where they need me   
From my hive and hearth and everything that I used to be   
  
I’ll be workin’ — til I’m ground to dust   
My eyes are full of fear   
And my blood is full of rust   
I’ll be slavin’ — til they call me away   
Duty’s a cold master   
But there’s no other way   
To keep myself breathin’   
For at least one more sweep   
So I pay any price   
Doesn’t matter how steep   
  
Fleet came callin’ and I had to go   
Fleet came callin’ — had to get up and go   
Took my lusus from by my bed   
Took her right out back and put a bullet in her head   
  
Death came callin’ and I had to go   
Death came callin’ — had to get up and go   
Ascension’s just a load of shit   
Told me dreams and hopes and promises and never meant a bit   
  
I’ll be workin’ — til I’m ground to dust   
My eyes are full of fear   
And my blood is full of rust   
I’ll be slavin’ — til they call me away   
Duty’s a cold master   
But there’s no other way   
To keep myself breathin’   
For at least one more sweep   
So I pay any price   
Doesn’t matter how steep   
  
I’ve been workin’ — now I can’t no more   
My eyes clouded dim   
And my blood is on the floor   
I’ve been slavin’ — but they called me away   
Duty’s a stone bitch   
At the end of the day   
And my heart won’t be beatin’   
For even one more sweep   
Cause I paid every price   
Didn’t matter how steep

* * *

As the last chords of the song rang out into the far space of the auditorium, the realization came to Chixie all at once — that she had just played this song for a purple blood. For a clown. For one of the high Subbjuggulators who had every right to kill her for half of the lyrics in the song.

_Why the fuck did I sing it like that?!_

Maybe she wanted to see what would happen. Maybe she considered that he might just kill her before she even finished the song. And would that be _that_ bad? Because if she died right here and now, she’d never have to face the long uncertainty of life in the Fleet or the Army. A long uncertainty, but it only ended one way and that was always the same. Give it long enough, and every rustie who went in ended up in the same place.

So what was going to happen? Chixie closed her eyes, and waited.

He was clapping, slowly. A soft murmur of appreciation.

“Girl… that was some good shit. Really… really different than the bullshit we hear on _Slam_ I gotta say. Just the right amount of sad… really make ‘em _feel_ that shit.”

She opened her eyes and looked over — Marvus had a look on his face that was halfway between amused and thoughtful.

“I… I can change the lyrics. I have another version…” the false confidence she’d felt a moment ago had vanished — now she just didn’t want to end up dead because of a fucking _song._

“Oh no no no, girl!” Marvus shook his head. “Little bit of subversion is fine like that — little bit of spice in the grubsauce. Besides… it’s not like it matters.” He looked directly at her and winked. “After all, we’re all in here no matter what.”

“Yeah, I… you’re right, Mis— Marvus.” She smiled nervously and Marvus nodded his approval.

“Well, get your shit together.” He clapped his hands together, and there was an excited gleam in his eyes. “We’ve got a motherfuckin _story_ to tell!”


	11. Tell Your Story — But Tell it Right

the 3rd day…

Imperial Theater, Shadowrock, Northern Alternia - 1812 local time (2112 AUT)

After the time she spent in training, it felt strange for Skylla to be alone for so long. She’d been given a private cabin in the airship, and now she was in a private dressing room in the Imperial Theater. Skylla had never been in a theater like this before — not even as a guest, and certainly not as a performer.

Is that what she was now? A performer? Possessed of the incredible talent and skill of having been outside to vent to someone she barely knew. If she’d been a few minutes earlier or later, she’d have been atomized along with everyone else she’d been sharing dinner with in the mess hall the morning before. Strange to think about it now… she couldn’t even picture their faces and it had only been a couple night-cycles since.

Skylla felt hollowed out inside. Not even sad at this point, but just completely and utterly empty. She missed her old life and she missed her lusus. Maybe it had been hard — downright harsh sometimes — but at least they’d been facing everything together. Between the two of them, she’d known they could face anything.

And then the Army had come calling, and everything changed forever.

A voice came from the other side of the door — the deep baritone of Marvus Xoloto. “Mind if I come in?”

“Sure.” Skylla sniffled and tried to compose herself. The door clicked open and the air pressure changed — it was like she could _feel_ the presence of Marvus in the room.

“Hey, girl, you ready for this thing?” His tone was even — not quite cheery, but definitely friendly.

Skylla shook her head. “I don’t know… what am I even doing? You told me I’d be telling my story but… what does that mean?”

“Well, good thing I happened to come visit, cause I got somethin for you to take a look at.” Marvus walked next to her and set down a sheet of paper with a series of neatly typed lines on it. “You give that an eyeball and use it to… add a lil bit of spice to your story.”

She picked up the paper and glanced down it — the story on it was certainly compelling, but it wasn’t particularly based in reality. Skylla shook her head. “I don’t understand… I barely remember what happened and it was over in a second. This isn’t what happened at all.”

Marvus shrugged. “Girl, the people out there don’t need the boring version — they need the version that plays up little details here and there. The point is to grab onto the emotions and really sell it to em. You okay to do that, girl?”

She wasn’t sure if she was, but she nodded anyway. “Yeah… I think I can do that.”

“Fuckin great!” Marvus grinned. “I was just gettin to like you a whole helluva lot and I really didn’t wanna take you out of rotation cause of any silly misunderstandin.”

He reached out and patted her solidly on the shoulder, almost knocking her out of the stool she was sitting in.

“Read that motherfuckin story and internalize the hell out of it. See you on the stage.”

Skylla sighed and took her palmhusk from its place on the dressing table.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 1819 ANT (2119 AUT)

Skylla

Yyou got time to talk?

Konyyl

Yeah I guess   
We have morning briefing in forty minutes   
Why the fuck are you messaging me again?

Skylla

I don’t know what else to do.   
I’m going on a big fucking stage to talk about what happened in a couple hours.   
Kind of… it’s a long storyy.

Konyyl

If there’s a point here please get to it ALREADY   
I told you before I’m not interested in being pale with you   
Only doing this because I feel bad   
Not PITY thought before you get any weird fucking ideas

Skylla

It’s not like that!   
I just want somebodyy to talk to that isn’t some highblood or something.   
Also… theyy have me sayying some stuff I don’t know about.

Konyyl

You give two shits about what’s good for you you’ll SAY IT   
Every word that they put in your mouth   
That’s how things work around here   
Take it from someone who had to learn that the hard way!

* * *

Imperial Theater, Shadowrock, Northern Alternia - 2100 local time (2400 AUT)

Backstage, just behind the curtains, Skylla waited nervously for the opening act to finish playing and fidgeted with the wireless microphone that had been attached to her collar. Chixie Roixmr… Skylla wasn’t sure she’d ever heard of her before, but she’d gotten to exchange a few words in the airship and she seemed nice enough. Nervous as a fucking ground squirrel and always shadowed by that creepy indigo blood that always looked like he was trying to undress you in his mind. Whoever she was, Skylla didn’t think she deserved what she was being put through.

She didn’t really know anyone here. The two teals sent by Legiscorpus had been around on the airship but they were just going to be audience members during the performance — distinguished guests of Marvus Xoloto who were there to represent the honored Legiscorpus and, by extension, His Honorable Tyranny. The teals might not be at the top of the ladder, but they had their place of acknowledgement within the system.

Everyone did, in a way… it was just that the place in that system became increasingly degrading and dangerous as you moved down the ranks. By the time you hit the bronze bloods, they had little value beyond marginally-skilled labor and grist for the ever-grinding Alternian war machine.

Skylla was determined not to mess this up, and she wasn’t even entirely sure why. If she screwed something up, she’d likely be culled almost immediately. And maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. But part of her didn’t _want_ to die — why should she have to constantly be paying for the terrible things that other people did?

Chixie walked back behind the curtain and passed Skylla with a quick, nervous nod, and then it was just Marvus Xoloto out there… the massive Subjuggulator who drew everyone’s eyes as soon as he stepped on the stage. He spoke with a loud, clear voice that was aided by the microphone hidden in his color.

“Well, folks — let’s give another motherfuckin round of applause for Chixie — that’s music right from the heart of the Empire itself! And no… we’re gonna be introducing our main guest for the morning! The sole survivor of the brutal rebel attack on the Southern Alternian Regional Training Command… please join me in welcoming _Specialist Skylla Koriga!_

Skylla’s stomach dropped — she’d apparently been promoted without her knowledge. But she knew what she needed to do — she stiffly, mechanically stepped out from behind the curtain and onto the stage.

The feeling was almost overwhelming. There were hundreds of trolls in the theater — thousands. Seats packed so far back that she couldn’t even see them against the bright stage lighting that beat down on her. Marvus stood at the head of it all, grinning broadly in a way that showed every one of his sharp teeth. There was a pair of chairs set up in the center of the stage, directly across from each other but turned just enough to face out to the audience.

Marvus motioned for her to walk over, speaking to the crowd as she did so. He sounded different — less casual and conversational than before.

“This is Specialist Skylla Koriga — esteemed member of the Alternian Army. Known for her resilience and skill, Specialist Koriga here was at the South Alternian Regional Training Command specifically to help get the next generation of brave Alternian fighters ready for their ordeals as a part of Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty’s luminous forces of righteous motherfuckin conquest.”

This was all new information — someone who was writing the script must have decided that her origin story needed to be punched up a bit. Hopefully Marvus wasn’t planning to ask her any questions about it, because she’d only found out she was an experienced Army Specialist thirty seconds ago.

Marvus motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs and Skylla took her seat quietly. He sat down in the other chair and nodded in a way that would be imperceptible to the audience.

“So, Skylla… can I call you Skylla?”

She nodded to him and he smiled.

“Great. Skylla, there’s a lot of trolls out there worried right now. Talk on Chittr says that folks are havin a hard time acceptin what happened. Maybe even gettin ideas that the Empire is vulnerable now. That Trizza Tethis isn’t able to keep her people safe. That she’s not as good as the old Empress.” He rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. “Well, I think that folks can learn a lot from your story, Skylla. I think folks will see just how unbreakable the true Alternian spirit is. Do you mind? Do you mind tellin us what happened?”

She nodded and closed her eyes. _And now it’s time for me to lie._

“Well, you see, I was standing daywatch in my barracks when I noticed some movement on the perimeter. I got my kit and went to check it out, but I didn’t see anything.”

“But it turns out,” Marvus said, “that it was a trick, right?”

She nodded again. “Yes. A group of rebels had used it as a distraction to launch an attack on the compound. They started shooting and… folks started dying. But because I raised the alarm, we were able to fight back and hold them off.”

Marvus replied to her, but he was obviously talking mostly to the audience. “According to our Legiscorpus investigation, it looks like no less than two dozen rebels were killed in the attack. But because of the brave actions of Skylla here, they were able to drive them off.”

Skylla knew the next part by heart — the past that was closest to the truth. “Yeah, but… unfortunately there was something else… someone, probably a double agent, had managed to use the confusion to set up several high-yield improvised explosives. They… they set them off.”

Marvus’ face was genuinely sympathetic. “Unfortunately motherfuckin true. Bombs went off and killed a ton of good motherfuckin folks. Skylla here did her best to help them out, didn’t you?”

“I was out near the perimeter when it happened, checking for rebels, so I didn’t get caught in the explosions. I rushed back in and tried to help anyone I could. But those bombs… they did a lot of damage.” She felt her gut clenching up. It was so _close_ to the truth in that part.

“Skylla, you did everythin you could and more,” Marvus still looked like he honestly felt bad for her. “Fuckin rebels did everything they could to get to our people. And we still made em pay a whole shittin lot for what they got.”

_This is all a lie. Why am I sitting here lying like this?_

“We found Skylla here passed the fuck out next to the bodies of her fellow soldiers. She gave it everythin she could til she literally couldn’t. A true fuckin soldier.” He reached out and patted her knee. “I bet if we had a hundred like you, we’d crush any fuckin rebellion in the beat of a blood pusher.”

She smiled. The script was done — from here on out she was just supposed to smile along and let Marvus do the talking.

“In fact — I want you to be the first person to know that our investigators have uncovered evidence of the people behind this heinous act.”

Skylla looked up at him with confusion in her face — she had no idea that they’d found out anything. The investigators didn’t seem to have much to go on and she definitely hadn’t given them anything particularly useful. How could she — she’d gone out to cry and gotten knocked out cold by the explosion.

“Abso-fuckin-lutley,” Marvus nodded at her and smiled. “See, we’ve been doin a lot of research and a lot of fuckin analyzin and we know who’s behind this. Specifically, it’s a group of mostly lowbloods, but led by one particular cerulean…”

Marvus paused for dramatic effect, then spoke to the crowd again.

“The blood traitor known as Mallek Adalov is behind this whole thing, and we’re gonna hunt him down and exact some motherfuckin righteous justice.”

Skylla stared at him.

_These are all lies._


	12. A Keeper of Her Kindness

the 4th night…

the Southern Caverns - 1916 local time (1016 AUT)

Of course Lynera told Bronya as soon as Daraya was gone. But not too soon… she’d given it just enough time to give her a bit of a start. She wasn’t sure exactly _why_ she’d done that. Maybe she… maybe she understood why it was that Daraya wanted to leave.

And when she told Bronya… Bronya just looked sad, and she didn’t say anything. And then a night-cycle had passed, and a day-cycle… and she still didn’t say anything. But Lynera could see how hurt she was. She continued her daily tasks around the caverns — there was always so much to be done — but there was something about the way she carried herself that changed. She spent more and more time in the nursery she’d made, tending to the small grubs.

Then they’d seen the announcement — the video broadcast from the Empire itself, featuring one of the high Subjuggulators. Lynera had been with Bronya while they watched the broadcast, hearing about the attack — apparently it wasn’t just a bombing — and learning about the way the rebels had engaged in such a cowardly strike against the Alternian Army. As soon as the leader’s name was announced, Lynera had seen the color drain from Bronya’s face as she stared at the screen.

As if she would do anything in her power to reverse time those few night-cycles and stop Daraya from leaving. And in truth… Lynera felt the same way.

They knew she’d been in contact with Mallek — at least that they’d been talking. And it seemed harmless enough — the idea of a jade associating with a cerulean wasn’t anything improper under the right circumstances. Certainly not as friends. And maybe they’d gotten the sense that Mallek might have some subversive tendencies but… wasn’t what they were doing with their own nursery a little bit subversive?

Lynera felt torn. On one hand, she felt things about Daraya that she wasn’t at all willing to admit — and that included not wanting her to be in that situation. But what could she do? It wasn’t like they could force Daraya back. And Lynera had tried to reach out… had tried to text her…

foreverVigilant began chatting with waywardspirit at 0931 AST (0031 AUT)

Lynera

-daraya listen to me please!!!   
-i know you’re not like this!!!   
-you can still come back to the caverns!!!

Lynera

-can you please respond to me already!!!   
-whatever weird feelings you have toward me aside   
-!!!this is dangerous!!!

Lynera

-!!!PLEASE!!!

She’d never gotten a response. Never any acknowledgement that Daraya had even _seen_ the message. So she put it out of her mind… because what else could she do? She had to be there for Bronya, because she knew that Bronya would be taking this even harder than she was. Bronya might not be a Prioress yet — might not even technically be a Novice in the jade order — but she was effectively doing the work of one.

Lynera kept about her duties — tending to the wigglers and lusii and making sure that the other jades were doing what they needed to. But the whole time, she worried about Bronya. She worried to the point where she was losing focus trying to manage the other jades — spending the entire night in a kind of daze where she just let Lanque take over most of the work.

By the time the morning started to break, Lynera found herself back at the nursery, standing in the doorway and watching Lynera tending to the grubs. She bent over the pool, humming softly to them, and played with the cantankerous gold blood that kept trying to bite her fingers. Lynera smiled softly at her and watched quietly. And she felt a pang deep inside of her that was impossible to ignore. She wanted so badly to say exactly how she felt — to open up to Bronya in a way that she would never be able to take back.

That seemed like a bad idea. Appealing… tantalizing… almost irresistible. But bad.

“Bronya,” she said, her voice just loud enough to be heard. Bronya turned her head toward the sound and Lynera could see the deep lines of worry in her expression.

“Yes, Lynera. Did you need something?”

Lynera shifted in her spot, unsure if she wanted to push this or just excuse herself and slink back to her room. Maybe it was better to leave Bronya alone with this responsibility — to not burden her with having to interact with yet another person. But Lynera didn’t really believe that. She didn’t believe that she was nothing more than a burden… hoped that she was more than a burden, anyway.

“I just… I wanted to make sure you were okay. After everything. After the Empire’s broadcast and all…”

Bronya smiled — it was so obviously forced that it actually hurt Lynera to see it. “Of course! I’m fine, as always. I always said it’s important to 1 — keep a positive attitude, 2 — take life as it comes, and 3 — never give up hope…” She trailed off and her face faltered, and once again she looked almost indescribably sad.

Lynera made her decision — she walked into the nursery and over to where Bronya was sitting by the sopor pool. She swept her skirt behind her knees and knelt down next to Bronya. They were close now… a bit closer than Lynera had intended — but not quite as close as she wanted. She pushed that specific thought off into the distance because it didn’t seem like the right time. Instead, she leaned forward and reached out to tickle the stubborn little grub that was paddling around growling.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lynera could see Bronya smiling. “Lynera… you… you don’t have to bother with me.”

Ignoring her, Lynera kept playing with the grub, who had decided that they actually appreciated the attention and was rolling around in the sopor making that distinctive squeak-purr noise that grubs had. Without looking over, Lynera spoke quietly.

“I’m here for you.”

It was the only thing she said, and still she could see Bronya’s face flush jade. As soon as it happened, Lynera’s blood pusher started beating faster — her own cheeks warming with a blush. She wasn’t trying to get some kind of reaction out of Bronya! She was just telling her — quite sincerely — that she would be there if she needed anything.

“I’m worried about Daraya,” Bronya said. “I’m worried that 1 — she’s gotten herself involved in something that I can’t help her get out of, and 2 — that she’s fallen in with people who would just as soon kill her as they would overturn the Empire.” Bronya sighed heavily and brought a hand to her face, wiping at her eyes.

Lynera’s mind crowded with thoughts that she knew she shouldn’t act on — _reach out and take her hand — tell her how you really feel about her — tell her you’ll take care of everything — just kiss her already!_ — and the suddenness of it all took her off-guard. She lowered her eyes and turned away from Bronya before responding.

“Daraya is…” Lynera started to say something, but what could she possibly say to this? Bronya was too smart to fall for any attempts to placate her, and Lynera knew that she’d feel terrible lying to her. Instead, she let out a long breath and frowned. “I don’t know if Daraya’s going to be okay at all. I tried to send her a message but she won’t respond to me. I don’t even know if she saw it or not.”

Bronya made a soft _hmm_ noise and then leaned over toward Lynera — she felt her face getting uncomfortably hot. “Lynera, can I tell you something and you promise not to repeat it to the others?”

Lynera nodded. “Of course.”

“I got a message from Elwurd.” She fidgeted nervously and Lynera felt herself tense up — Bronya’s former matesprit had kept bothering her for a time after the two broke up. Lynera suspected that it was Bronya who had called the relationship off. “She was acting really strangely and eventually admitted she’d been in touch with Mallek. I think she wanted me to help her… somehow. I told her to stop trying to contact me.”

Lynera smiled to herself — she was glad that Bronya had taken a stand against a person who she’d always known was just there to use Bronya until she couldn’t anymore and then leave her hurt and alone. And that wasn’t something that Lynera wanted to see. Because, after all, Bronya deserved a matesprit who genuinely appreciated her.

Bronya shifted and sat back on her haunches, coming a bit closer to Lynera — putting her hand down next to where her knees sat on the nursery floor. Lynera looked down, imagining how simple it would be to hold Bronya’s hand — just to let her know that she had some support in this world. Just to let her know that she wasn’t entirely alone.

“Lynera…” Bronya’s voice was very, very soft. “Can I tell you something? Something I’ve never told anyone else?”

“Of course — you can tell me anything,” Lynera replied, still looking down at the hand that now rested an inch from her knee. She tried to will the flush away from her cheeks and it wasn’t working. “What’s said between us stays between us.”

“I’m afraid of failing… just… all the time. I’m afraid that everything I do will never be enough and we’ll be torn apart. I try _so_ hard to keep everyone together. I try _so_ hard to keep us all safe because I know it’s hard out there. I know that the Empire is horrid and I know that they’d just as soon kill us if it suited their purposes…”

Lynera’s mouth hung open in shock and she had no idea what to say. What Bronya was saying — it went beyond subversive to the point where she could be culled on spot for saying even half of it.

“You… you don’t mean that,” Lynera said under her breath. “You can’t say that!” She clutched at the edges of her skirt and tugged — she bit her lip until she could taste the first tang of blood.

Bronya stared down at the grub in the pool. “I… 1 — do mean that, and 2 — can say it.” She reached out and put a hand on Lynera’s knee and squeezed, and Lynera felt herself tense up all over her body.

“Please,” she squeezed more insistently and Lynera could feel her shaking. “Please don’t tell anyone. I told you because…” Bronya stopped and shook her head. “I don’t know! I don’t know why I told you!”

Lynera had wondered, not an insubstantial amount, if the position she was in as a jade blood meant loyalty to the Empire, or a greater loyalty to the survival of her species. Or maybe it was a smaller loyalty… one to the trolls that were around her.

Or maybe… the smallest loyalty of them all. She looked at Bronya’s face — at the depths of conflicting emotions that swirled and rolled around.

“I won’t say anything to anyone,” she said quietly. “I would never do that to you.”

“Thank you.” Another squeeze of her knee and Bronya’s hand just… stayed there. Lynera bit her lip again. “Thank you.”

_I care about you, Bronya. In fact, I might go so far as to say that I love you… which is absolutely not something I’m supposed to feel about anyone, especially not a fellow jade blood but I don’t care anymore. Because I’ve felt this way about you for a long time and I hate seeing you upset. Because I want you to be happy and I think you deserve it. Because I love you._

Lynera smiled, and she didn’t say anything.


	13. Officer on Deck

the 4th night…

Somewhere over Northern Alternia - 1511 local time (1211 AUT)

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 1511 ANT (1211 AUT)

Polypa

tegiri * can you talk? *|

Tegiri

A true warrior is a/ways ready to ta/k to his…   
friend…   
Whenever she might need his advice, of course.

Polypa

ha * whenever I need? * really? *|   
you got a pale crush on me? *|   
not that there’s anything wrong with that *|   
kinda cute actually *|

Tegiri

Oh, you comp/ete/y misunderstand me!   
I’ve /ong ago surpassed the need for quadrants.   
I find my fu/fi//ment in the practica/ app/ication of the /aw and nothing e/se.

Polypa

bored out in the colonies? *|   
i always figured you’d be fighting * with the legislacerator assault corps, maybe *|   
didn’t turn out like you expected? *|

Tegiri

Sad/y it has not. The co/onies are charming in many ways, I can on/y take so much at a time.   
  
I’ve been ab/e to catch up on many of our shows, but I miss A/ternia dear/y.

Polypa

oh yeah * i forgot to ask you * you saw the empire’s broadcast? *|

Tegiri

I did indeed. A painfu/ shame that someone wou/d so thorough/y betray their fe//ow A/ternians. G/ad that the brave Specia/ist survived at /east. Made them hurt a bit.

Polypa

hey tegiri * can i ask you something weird? *|

Tegiri

Not at a// an ominous statement. But, by a// means — ask away.

Polypa

okay, sure * you always act like you’re pale for me * but then you say you don’t care about quadrants *|   
which is it? * you caught a little bit of a faint crush for me? *|   
you’re a six day flight away * i’m not gonna bite your head off *|

Tegiri

You have to understand that my devotion to the intricacies of the /aw is abso/ute. If I were to take away from that — even for one brief moment of foo/ish se/f-indu/gence — it cou/d spe// the doom of an unto/d number.

Polypa

that sounds fake as fuck * you push paper around a desk all day *|   
indulge yourself at least once * or indulge me if that gets you going *|

Tegiri

Very we//. I wi// admit to certain pa/e fee/ings towards you. Perhaps severa/ years of them. Which I respectfu//y kept to myse/f out of a desire not to c/oud my /ega/ judgement…

Polypa

however? *|

Tegiri

However, if you are amenab/e, I might be convinced to enter into an arrangement wherein we ca// each other “moirai/” and provide the kind of emotiona/ support expected of members of the aforementioned quadrant.

Polypa

tegiri * we already fucking do that * i talk to you every day *|   
fuck *|   
the reason i ask is i have a secret * one you can’t share with anyone *|   
i’m your moirail now * you can’t say a word of this to anyone *|

Tegiri

You have it on my honor that I wi// not divu/ge or disc/ose any information you provide me with anyone.

Polypa

good * you know the whole story that that soldier told? *|   
it’s hoofbeast shit * completely made up *|   
i was there when they first talked about it *|   
she survived because she went to take a shit *|   
she’s not a specialist * the training program she describes doesn’t exist *|   
that base was just a place to hold folks * get them prepped for their trips offworld *|

Tegiri

What you’re saying — it comp/ete/y goes against a/most everything we’re to/d. There must be a reason why the Empire is concea/ing the truth. Maybe as a p/an to draw out the rea/ cu/prits.

Poypa

i don’t know * but the problem is i don’t know *|   
maybe what you’re saying is true * maybe it’s not *|   
but someone is playing at something *|

Tegiri

We wi// have to trust in Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty’s grand designs — and the p/anning of her trusted confederates.

Polypa

i guess so *|

Tegiri

Po/ypa — if you are tru/y my moirai/ then I must inform you that I care deep/y about you. Moreover, I wou/d not want to see you hurt. P/ease be carefu/.

Polypa

of course * maybe one day I’ll be able to visit you on your rock *|

Tegiri

I /ook forward to it with anticipation.

Putting her palmhusk back into her uniform pocket, Polypa frowned and stared out the window at the clouds that were sliding by outside against the dim night sky. She still wasn’t sure how she was feeling about being… whatever the hell she was doing for Marvus Xoloto. It seemed like she was mostly just walking around and showing people to him sometimes.

Those two investigators from Legiscorpus — the ones who liked to fuck in their respite cube as if no one could hear them moaning — they seemed smart enough, but they also seemed like they were as lost as anyone. There was definitely no way the story had changed so dramatically because of newly-uncovered information — the official story was being changed to suit a very specific purpose. What made Polypa uncomfortable was she didn’t know what that specific purpose _was_ yet.

Maybe Tegiri was right — maybe it was all part of some long game that the Empress and her advisors were playing. Maybe. But the more and more Polypa saw of the Empire, the less likely that seemed to be the truth. She would never say it out loud — never admit the depths of her own doubt in the system she was supposed to be a bastion of. But whether or not she admitted to anyone else, the bitter seed had still been planted in her mind.

She closed her eyes, and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

“Girl, time to get your ass up.” The voice of Marvus Xoloto dragged Polypa out of her sleep and she opened her eyes to see the clown looking down at her with an expression that showed… approval? “Good motherfuckin idea to get some shut-eye while you can. Looks like things might be a bit crazy for a minute.”

Confused, Polypa sat up and looked around. It was still dark outside the window — she couldn’t have been asleep for more than a half hour. But something seemed somehow _off_ about the view out the window.

“What is it?” she asked groggily. “Did something happen?”

“Kind of,” Marvus looked a bit worried. And what in the world would worry one of the Subjuggulators? “We got us a hiveguest dockin in right now.”

As soon as he said it, Polypa realized what had seemed so strange about the view from out of the window — they had slowed down considerably. From the context, it was obvious that there was a small transit shuttle docking with the massive airship. Usually that meant someone was coming from a starship in orbit down to an airship. Polypa wasn’t stupid — she was getting a feeling she knew where this was going.

Marvus motioned for her to get up and follow him — she didn’t really have a choice in the matter in the first place. They wound their ways down the corridors — past the various respite cubes where trolls would soon be turning in to sleep for the day-cycle and the rest of their flight to their next destination.

_Well, mostly sleeping._ She allowed herself a brief smile for the noisy matesprits, then went back to her impassive expression that revealed none of her emotions.

It wasn’t long before they reached their destination — a cabin door that branched off from the hallway that led to the airship’s command deck. It was marked as being for the captain of the airship, but Polypa doubted very much that the captain was the one she was going to be speaking to.

“This is where I drop you off, girl.” Marvus’ voice was uncharacteristically quiet and Polypa once again what exactly was going to worry a clown of his stature and standing. “Good luck — you do like you been doin with me and you’ll be great.”

He nodded and turned to make his way back into the passenger portion of the airship, presumably back to his living quarters. Meanwhile, Polypa slid the door open - it glided almost silently on whisper-tracks as it smoothly slid into the wall and opened to the cabin beyond. Polypa stepped inside.

The troll standing at the far end of the cabin was tall enough that they almost scraped the ceiling of the airship — and it was only because their horns curled back around in on themselves that they didn’t have to constantly duck while moving around. They were wearing the distinctive two-tone uniform of one of the Fleet command officers — specifically, the one worn by violet bloods.

Polypa somewhat understood why Marvus had looked nervous. It still didn’t make a lot of sense — he didn’t seem the sort to back down even from a higher blood.

“Come in, Sergeant Goezee,” the violet blood’s voice carried clearly from one end of the cabin to the other. “And shut the door behind you.”

As instructed, Polypa stepped through and slid the door back behind her. The violet blood must’ve just come down from one of the starships in order to supervise things. Which made at least a little bit of sense… although in her experience it was always the Subjuggulators that ran things like the show trials and the various propaganda tours. So it didn’t entirely make sense that a violet blood would be here.

The violet blood turned, and suddenly Polypa completely understood Marvus’ hesitation earlier. She knelt to the ground and bowed her head.

“High Imperator Occsor! My apologies, I didn’t realize you’d taken over command!” In a second, her blood pusher was racing. No wonder Marvus was worried!

Other than the Empress herself, there was no one in the Alternian Empire more powerful or more feared than High Imperator Petrus Occsor. Veteran of countless conflicts all throughout the Empire, he had supposedly risen in the ranks of the Alternian Fleet until literally no one besides the Empress outranked him. And much like the traditions the Empress followed, he had killed the previous High Imperator to take the position.

The High Imperators served the Empire above all — and even the Empress had surprisingly little authority over them. If there was anyone that Marvus Xoloto would be afraid of, it would be him.

“You may stand,” The High Imperator’s voice sounded like the distant roll of thunder across the open plains… or artillery fire across a battlefield. “I don’t have time for whatever performative frivolity you plan to engage in.”

“Yes, High Imperator Occsor.” She kept her head down — the High Imperator turned and walked across the room… until he was standing a mere two steps from her. This close, the massive violet blood was even more terrifying. There was something in the way he carried himself with such ease… but this is the man who was reportedly behind the mass suppression of the outer colonies when Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty had taken power from her predecessor.

“Oh, shut the fuck up.” The High Imperator sneered at her. “I know my full title. You may address me as Imperator Petrus if you wish.”

“Yes, Imperator Petrus.” Polypa could feel the shaking starting in her gut and she prayed that she wouldn’t vomit. That seemed like a dangerous thing to do in the company of this particular troll.

“Good enough.” Petrus walked back to the other side of the room. When they spoke again, their voice was just as clear as if they were standing next to Polypa. “So you were assigned to assist the clown, Sergeant Goezee.”

She nodded. “Yes, Imperator Petrus. I was given the honor of attending to Subjuggulator Xoloto.”

Petrus laughed — the sound of a rasp being run across wood. “Subjuggulator Xoloto… and his fucking _circus._ I swear if that fucking clown brings his religion in this I’ll cull him myself.”

Polypa stared at him — for anyone to say something so blatantly against the Subjuggulators — to directly threaten one of them.

“You’re especially recalcitrant today, Sergeant. I suppose you find me intimidating?” Before Polypa could think of an answer that would result in him snapping her neck, he interrupted. “That wasn’t a question you can answer, Sergeant. Of course you do.”

She would’ve called him arrogant… but he was right. Instead of saying anything, she nodded politely.

“How long have you been in the Army, Sergeant?” Petrus asked her. “Are you just another grub playing at the game of war?”

Polypa straightened her back and stuck out her chin, adopting the best at-ready position the Army had been able to drill into her. “Imperator Petrus, I have been a soldier in the Alternian Army for three sweeps. I have been in my current rank for two sweeps.”

Again, Petrus laughed. “Oh you _wiggler._ Do you know how old I am? Forty-five sweeps… I’ve been in the Fleet since my own ascension at the age of ten. Thirty-five sweeps I’ve served this Empire. I have killed… untold millions in my time.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. Polypa felt her stomach churning. But he wasn’t done talking.

“Once again, we must bring this Empire back from the brink of calamity and disorder. I don’t care what the clowns do — whatever nonsense show they put on or silly pretend-trial they ultimately hold. And perhaps Trizza Tethis cares… but I do not.” Polypa’s eyes grew wide — not only did he refer to the Empress by name, but to openly scorn her wishes like this was unthinkable. “But I will say this — my countless sweeps in the Fleet would have been so much harder were it not for the many lower blood Sergeants and Lieutenants who helped carry out my will.”

He paused and turned to look directly at Polypa. She could _feel_ his gaze on her and she did everything in her power not to meet his gaze. It was the gaze of a troll who had become so familiar with death that he no longer saw it as anything other than another tool available to him.

“And trust me, Sergeant Goezee… without fail…” he narrowed his eyes, and Polypa flinched.

“They _all_ carried out my will.”


	14. The Disappearing Act

the 4th day…

The Diver, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0116 local time (1616 AUT)

Daraya watched as Mallek ran around the abandoned bar, as if he were trying to simultaneously cram every possession he could into one small bag. Daraya had been hanging out for two night-cycles already — just sleeping in the open floor area and washing up in the sink in the bathroom. Mallek had implied that they had a contact to meet up with soon who could help them vanish into the city, but it wasn’t a good time yet. She’d been instructed to keep her palmhusk off and not to talk to anyone — effectively cutting her off from whatever fallout there was from running away from the cloister.

But when they’d seen the Subjuggulator’s announcement the day before, everything had changed. Mallek immediately screamed and almost knocked the computer off the table before pacing the room, his eyes wide. He shut everything down — even the secure computer he’d been working on — and immediately went into his room and shut the door. He was in there for hours.

When he came out, he was holding a large duffle bag and his eyes still had that wide, terrified look to them. And when she saw the look in his eyes clearly — when she saw how this affected him — Daraya knew that he’d been telling the truth before. He wasn’t the one who’d set that bomb off… and he didn’t have any idea who did.

He was muttering to himself — just loud enough that Daraya could hear him — as he ran around the Diver looking for more stuff to cram into the bag. “She fucking told me that we’d be okay… why’d they change it… why’d they fucking change it?!”

Daraya furrowed her brow and watched him. “Mallek… what are we going to do?”

He turned to her and his eyes watered — “You think I have answers for you?! I’m going to meet up with the only contact I have who I’m pretty sure isn’t about to try to collect a bounty on my goddamn head, and you… I don’t fucking _care_ what you do. Go running back to the jade caverns and hide in your fucking hole!”

Daraya let out a short sound of anger — of hurt. “You know I can’t just do that! I ran away for a fucking _reason_ and now you’re telling me that things are really starting to move and I should just go back?! What in the bulge-munching _fuck_ are you talking about?!”

“I’m sorry — did you not hear the same fucking announcement I did? The one where the clown brought out that one lady and suddenly the story’s fucking changed? All of a sudden it’s rebels attacking the goddamn Army base and I’m somehow behind it all?! Don’t you think I have a little bit more to deal with that your wiggler bullshit?!” He frantically crammed a portable computer into the bag on top of a lumped-up ball of clothing.

“I’m nine and a half sweeps, you dumb piece of shit. I’m not a wiggler — I’m half a sweep from spending the rest of my life on some colony world in the middle of nowhere… or trapped in one of the fucking conclaves forever.” She balled up a fist. “You think they’re not gonna cull me for associating with you?! You think I’m safe?!”

He… laughed at her. Zipping up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he walked across the room to grab a large traveling cloak. “You fucking wiggler. The only times you go outside the caves is when you play at being a revolutionary. You play games and never do anything too dangerous. You think it’ll be the same being cull-on-sight?” He laughed again, dry and without humor. “You’re a fucking joke.”

But she took her own cloak from where she’d thrown it over a chair — she wasn’t planning on simply giving up. “No. I’m not going back to the caverns and I don’t give a fuck about any of this. Wherever you’re planning to go, I am too.”

“Fine,” Mallek rolled his eyes and put the cloak across his shoulders. Once it was settled, he took out a palmhusk and sent a single message before powering the device off and putting it back into the bag from whence it had appeared. “I let her know we’ll be at the meeting point in an hour.”

“Who? The gaegrl chick?”

He nodded and Daraya snorted in spite of herself.

“Really?! That’s your secret rebel contact?”

Mallek glared and pulled the hood of his cloak down low. “Shut up. You’re not allowed to make any more comments about me, or my contacts, or our plans. You’re here because I can’t get you to fucking leave… not because I like you or anything.”

* * *

Lowblood quarter, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0132 local time (1732 AUT)

Mallek, Daraya, and Cirava all left the Diver together with the expectation that none of them would be returning again. They took what they could carry, and Mallek made sure to destroy any evidence of what he’d been planning before they headed out. He’d given Daraya a bag that contained some compressed grubcake rations, some spare clothing she doubted would fit very well, and — quite unsettlingly — a loaded Alternian Army service pistol. _Just in case_ was all he had to say about that.

They moved quickly, keeping to the side streets and winding footpaths that crept through the city whenever possible. Trolls would mostly be inside during the day, with a few heavily-cloaked exceptions, but there was no guarantee that the drones would be out. Despite Mallek’s insistence that no one actually knew where he’d been hiding out, Daraya was terrified. She would’ve almost felt better if Mallek _had_ been a dangerous rebel instead of a wanna-be revolutionary who spent most of his time working behind the safety of a screen. At least then she’d feel more comfortable that he’d actually ever fired the pistol he’d stuck in his own belt.

After over an hour of walking, they arrived at a concealed underpass below the main thoroughfare and stopped. Once they were in the deep shadows, Mallek pulled back his hood.

“We’ll wait here for our contact and then we’ll go from there. Keep your eyes open and be ready to use those pistols.”

Daraya looked from Mallek over to Cirava, who shrugged and shook their head. “I got nothing… I’ve never fired one in my life,” they said quietly.

_Well this is fucking great. I kinda wish I’d just stayed behind and argued with Lynera instead._ She blushed a little bit at the thought of it.

It wasn’t long before they weren’t alone in the underpass anymore. There was the low, steady sound of footsteps coming up from a passageway that cut down below into some of the walking tunnels. Mallek crouched down, nervously drawing the pistol from his belt and holding it low and to the ready. Cirava didn’t bother with theirs, and Daraya decided to follow their example. Together, they stood there in a tense silence and waited.

A figure wrapped up in a thick, blue traveling cloak came around the bend and stopped as soon as they saw the pistol pointed at them. They drew back their hood slowly… revealing the face of a pretty troll woman with half of her blue-dyed hair shaved clean to the scalp. She had an easy smile on her face, but her eyes were nervous.

“Hey there,” she said, letting her voice carry in the underpass. “You mind pointing that thing somewhere else.”

It seemed to take Mallek a second to fully recognize the woman standing there, but he did finally put the gun down.

“Oh, that’s so much better!” The woman grinned and closed the distance between them, looking carefully at the others. “I’m Elwurd — I have no idea if Mallek’s told you anything about me. I know how he gets.”

“You’re gaegrl69…” Daraya blushed suddenly. “I mean… shit, sorry. You’re the one Mallek was talking to.”

Elwurd winked at her and smirked. “Yep — the one and very fucking same. Why, you looking for something quick around the corner?” She laughed when she saw Daraya’s face explode into a jade blush. “I’m kidding with you. I do have a certain thing for jades, but this isn’t the time or the place… well, not the time anyway.”

Mallek narrowed his eyes and drew his hood up over his head again. “You said you could help if things ever got too hot. Well I think being the most wanted person on all of Alternian fucking qualifies.”

Elwurd shrugged and looked over them again — “Well, I mean… _I_ can’t really help you specifically, _but_ I can definitely get you to someone who can. See, there’s an indigo blood…”

Daraya’s whole body tensed. “What the fuck did you say?! An _indigo?!_ ”

“Oh, it’s cool.” Elwurd shrugged and flipped her own hood over her head, dropping her face into heavy shadow. “This specific indigo is on your side. You thought you were the only blue blood who maybe wasn’t completely cool with the Alternian system? Seriously?”

Without another word, she turned and began to walk — the others hurried to follow. Daraya picked up her pace, walking up ahead of the others to fall into step next to Elwurd.

“You look familiar,” Daraya said. “I mean… I know I’ve seen you around at concerts and stuff. What’s your deal?”

“Oh, my _deal?_ ” Elwurd asked with a laugh. “My deal is that I think this rotten planet and its rotten Empire can fuck right on off and burn. So I do what I can to keep myself from losing my shit every day. And yeah, I’ve seen a few of you jades at the concerts. You know Bronya?”

_Oh shit. It’s her._ She remembered some blue blood that Bronya’d been pissed off at — it couldn’t be a coincidence. “Uh… yeah. Bronya’s the one in the charge of the caverns.”

“No kidding — she never told me she was a fucking Prioress. Fancy-ass bitch.” The tone wasn’t exactly what Daraya would call _kind_ but it sounded at least a little bit _intrigued._

But Daraya shook her head. “No, she’s not even a Novice yet. She’s a sweep past Ascension but… you know how it can get with the jades. She can’t just leave until someone else can take over.” Daraya lowered her eyes, even if no one could see the gesture behind the hood. “Probably end up being that _bitch_ Lynera. God… she… she…” Daraya wasn’t sure how to hide the tone that was creeping into her voice — the strange mix of genuine annoyance and traces of a very specific kind of desire.

Elwurd laughed at her. “Oh, you got a little thing going on with her? Yeah — I know how that is. Not gonna lie, Bronya was kinda a fussyfangs at times. Always… you know, always trying to do stuff she wanted to do. Hard to keep me tied down like that. Jades — am I right?”

Daraya’s face flushed and she was so glad that Elwurd couldn’t see her. “I guess. I don’t have a _thing_ going on with anyone right now.”

“Your loss,” Elwurd said with a muffled shrug. “Pitch shit’s fun too. Feels just as good… sometimes better. She pretty?”

“W—what?” Daraya pulled the traveling cloak around her shoulders tightly and shook her head. “That’s none of your fucking business!”

“Nice — that’s good. Well, maybe you’ll get to kiss her a kiss yet. Or… you know…” Elwurd clicked her tongue and Daraya could practically _hear_ the wink behind it.

“It’s not like that,” Daraya protested. “She’s not pitch for me anyway, so shut your fucking mouth.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised. All that time spent just hanging around in the cloister… nothing but time to _think_ you know. It has a way of… spilling over.” Another one of her laughs, and Daraya was regretting trying to talk to her. She was pretty, sure, but she was also kind of _mean._

“Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything,” Daraya muttered. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Elwurd turned toward her — her face was just barely visible and in the shadows her expression almost looked sympathetic.

“Look, we’re gonna get somewhere safe and get these two morons situated.” She gestured back at Mallek and Cirava with her other hand. “Then if you wanna go back to your cave you can. Maybe give your little pitch crush a shot — what harm could it possibly do?”

“She pisses me off!” Daraya growled.

But Elwurd laughed again. “Yeah, that’s kinda the point. Make it more _fun_ you know?”

Daraya didn’t bother to respond, and she slowed her pace enough to drop just behind Elwurd. The rest of the journey was made in silence, with only her thoughts to keep her occupied.


	15. The Ripcord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter depicts potential sexual assault, alcohol consumption, and an abusive relationship.

the 4th day…

Everdim Temporary Respiteblocks, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0532 local time (2032 AUT)

They’d flown in the night before and gone straight to one of the temporary respiteblocks. A few hours to rest and then they’d be performing the same liars’ show that night at the Imperial Theater in Everdim. Another round of performances that she believed in for a cause that she absolutely didn’t. Zebruh had been angry at her after the last one — insisted that she change the lyrics again. He hadn’t quite hit her but… she’d been worried for a minute.

Chixie glanced nervously over at the open door to the ablution block — the sound of the water had just started and steam was slowly drifting out. He’d be in there for at least the next ten or fifteen minutes… and that gave her ten or fifteen minutes of freedom.

lyricalfirebrand began chatting with snakeBytes at 0533 AST (2033 AUT)

Chixie

are you there? / this isn’t fucking funny   
we need to talk / after what happened last day-cycle

Chixie

seriously what the fuck? / why aren’t you responding?   
are you safe? / just please let me know!

How long had it been now? Two minutes? Three? She looked at the doorway again and frowned. He scared her, but what could she do? Maybe… she was familiar with the city. She didn’t know much about the indigo district where the temporary respiteblock was, but she _did_ know the low places where she could possibly get away. But the second she slipped her leash, they were going to come for her. Zebruh wouldn’t hesitate to inform on her to the two Legiscorpus stooges that were staying in the same building.

They’d have drones out — and suddenly her face would be plastered everywhere along with Mallek’s. She didn’t have the resources to run from that — didn’t have anywhere to run to. Her respiteblock was the first place they’d look — then all the bars and clubs she used to go to. And maybe some of those would cross enough with the revolutionaries that they’d scoop up a few of the others to disappear them as well… or trot them out for a show trial or two.

_Seems to be how they’re going with this._ She shivered — she wasn’t even sure why she agreed to perform anymore. Zebruh was lying to her — he’d _always_ been lying to her. She wasn’t sure how he’d been able to avoid going offworld yet, but she was increasingly aware that he had no ability to keep those promises of getting her an exemption from the mandatory military service that was looming over her.

Chixie bent over and started to cry — because there wasn’t really anything else that she could do. She clutched the palmhusk tightly and looked down again, hoping that Mallek would respond. But the screen stayed dark.

She sobbed and held the palmhusk to her chest, wishing that _something_ would change. Wishing that someone would come and intervene and she wouldn’t have to do this shit anymore.

Inside the ablution block, the sound of the water cut off, and Chixie’s blood pusher raced as she quickly looked at the time on her palmhusk. He’d only been in there for five minutes — Chixie stood up to put the palmhusk away with her other things and… he was standing there in the doorway looking at her, his torso wrapped in a towel.

“Whatcha doing, babe?” The tone was even, but there was menace underneath it. “You wanna hop in the ablution chamber? We don’t have to, but y’know… if you’re feeling it.”

She smiled nervously. “No, I’m okay. Maybe just… maybe just get some sleep for the day.”

He shook his head. “You’re really not any kind of fun, Chix. We really need to loosen you up a little. You know… maybe grease the wheels a bit.” She shuddered and clutched the palmhusk closer to her chest.

Zebruh noticed — he walked closer and scowled at her. “What’ve you got there?” He reached out and grabbed her wrist — hard enough to hurt — and pulled her hand up, squinting at the palmhusk. “Who are you talking to?”

She shook her head, the tears boiling up from the bottom of her eyes. “No one! I was just checking something real quick!”

He plucked the palmhusk out of her hand and shoved her wrist away with a growl. With the palmhusk in hand, he tapped at the screen. “What’s your fucking passcode?” He scowled at the palmhusk’s dark screen. “I told you to take the fucking passcode off of this!”

“I’m sorry—” her voice was shaking. “I must’ve forgotten. I’ll do better next time!”

“Fucking right you will! Goddamn stupid bitch!” He tapped at the screen again. “Now give me the fucking passcode!”

She reached her hand out, her eyes pleading. “Just… give me the palmhusk and I’ll type it in.”

“So you don’t fucking trust me to have the code, huh?” Zebrah glared at her and took a step forward — he held the palmhusk out to her, but he didn’t let go of it. “Fine. Type that shit in and let me see what you’ve been doing.”

Shaking, she typed in the passcode — and she knew he saw it. The palmhusk flared to life, showing the last conversation she’d had with Mallek. Zebruh pulled the palmhusk back sharply and began flipping through it. “Looks like you’ve been up to something… worrying about someone…”

He snarled at her. “Who is it?! Who the fuck are you talking to like this?! What happened last day-cycle anyway?!”

Her mind raced — she needed to think of _something_ that he would believe. It didn’t have to be perfect — just enough to get him to the point where she could do something else to distract him until he would just forget about it. “It’s nothing, just… one of my backup singers was in a sector that had a drone raid the other day. I’m worried about her is all.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “You need to learn not to worry about stuff like that. Just keep yourself focused on what’s in front of you… and maybe learn to _relax_ a little bit.” He walked back towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. He tossed the palmhusk over to the nearby table behind Chixie and began to walk forward, pressing up against her as she backed off. He reached up and put a hand on her shoulder, then ran his fingers along her collarbone and up the hollow of her neck. “Maybe do something really quick and you’ll feel better.”

She smiled nervously. _I don’t want to do this!_ “Okay, I think that’d be okay but… can we maybe have something to drink first? Just… you know how it is.”

He shrugged and stopped advancing on her. “Yeah, I guess. This place has some pretty fancy booze and I say we’ve earned it.”

_You haven’t earned shit!_ “Yeah, okay… that sounds good.” She smiled meekly.

Zebruh walked to the corner of the room where a small cabinet held a number of bottles of liquor — one of the perks of being in a highblood room. He selected a large, thick glass bottle with an ornate label and popped out the stopper. “This stuff looks good.” A sniff, then a long drink.

“Good stuff, babe.” He turned and smiled slowly at her. “You gotta try this shit out. Get the edge off you a little bit, make you feel… better.” He was already back across the room, standing in front of her and already stinking like alcohol. Chixie felt that run of shivers up her back again.

_I don’t want to do this!_ “Okay, what now?” She tried to smile again, but it felt so forced that she could barely manage. Zebruh squinted at her and took another drink.

“Have some of this.” It wasn’t a suggestion. “Then we can have some fun.” Neither was that.

“Okay.” _I don’t want to do this!_ She reached out for the bottle. “Just… hand it to me and let me have some of that.” _I don’t want to do this!_ He handed her the bottle — it was so much heavier than she expected. Slowly, she tilted the bottle to her lips. The liquor inside was smooth, but it burned in a way that let her know that soon it would hit her just right and then… maybe she wouldn’t mind so much anymore…

_I don’t want to do this!_

She drank deeply, closing her eyes tightly.

_I don’t want to do this!_

The bottle was smooth and easy in her hand.

_I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to do this!_

She stopped drinking and looked down at the label — the ornate geometric design that was marked with various symbols of the highblood distillery where it had come from.

“I don’t want to do this.” It was a whisper. Zebruh leaned in slightly.

“What’d you say, babe?”

_I’m not going to do this._

In one single, fluid motion, Chixie turned the bottle in her hand and brought it around in a tight arc, bolstered by every ounce of strength and anger and pain that she could possibly bring to bear. The heavy glass connected with the weakest part of the side of Zebruh’s forehead with a noise that sounded like a snarlbeast crunching down on a bone.

Zebruh didn’t go down right away, but he reeled as the bottle came back with a fresh coat of blue on it. Liquor sprayed out from the open neck of the bottle, getting everywhere.

Without a word, Chixie brought the bottle back up, then down again on the same spot. This time, the noise was crackling and wet and Zebruh fell down to his knees. He muttered something incoherent and struggled to get up. Another strike from the bottle hit the back side of his head and he staggered forward.

Chixie raised the bottle up and clenched the neck with both hands.

She brought it down with all of her strength.

The noise was dull — the sound of dropping an overripe melon on the ground — and Zebruh went down _hard._ Indigo blood was everywhere, covering the bottle and the floor and — Chixie looked down at her sweater — it had splashed on her front too. She dropped the bottle to the floor — it hit the carpet with a dull thud and rolled slightly, leaving a blue trace as it went.

Her pusher was trying to beat right out of her chest and her breathing was hitching up — a panic attack getting ready to set in.

“Oh no…” she looked around the room frantically, searching for something that would help her. Chixie had no idea what that something would actually _be_ but she knew she couldn’t go to anyone else for help. She had, by all accounts, attacked her matesprit for no good reason. He’d just been making some red solicitations and she’d knocked him unconscious with a bottle.

_I hope he never fucking wakes up._

She ran to the dresser by the recupercoons — she seemed to remember that someone had said they had spare clothes inside. The top drawer had a set of plain clothes similar to what she was already wearing. Quickly, Chixie stripped off the blood-splattered sweater and swapped it for a shirt and sweater from the drawer. She wasn’t going to bother taking off her boots and pants and trying to get that sorted — she’d just hope that no one asked her too many questions about the blue splatters that had collected there.

Next, Chixie grabbed the palmhusk from the table where Zebruh had tossed it and slipped it into her pocket. A quick look down at Zebruh’s body confirmed that he was still at least unconscious, if not actually dead. She would need to run now — would need to try to disappear into the lowblood parts of the city and try to get in touch with Mallek or one of his associates. She wished things were going down differently — with what had happened it would be unlikely that Mallek would poke his head up again.

Still, she had to try. She had to get away from the blood-smelling room and out into the city. That was the only chance she had — to get far enough away before someone came to check and raised the alarm.

Chixie stepped out the door to the hallway without a second glance at Zebruh… and then she was gone into the twilight.


	16. A Comfort to the Distressed

the 4th day…

The Southern Caverns - 0217 local time (1717 AUT)

Sleep had been an especially rare commodity those last few days, and Lynera found herself awake far earlier than she’d meant to be. She’d gone to sleep early that morning — and she worried the entire time. She worried about Daraya — worried far more than she was willing to admit — the entire time she was getting ready for the morning. Of course Daraya hadn’t responded to her messages yet — and that meant Lynera had no idea what was going on.

It was more frustrating than she’d imagined it would be. She kept wishing that Daraya would come back — just so she could really give her a proper scolding, of course. Not because she was actually worried about Daraya. Certainly not because she felt like her first impulse might be to kiss Daraya as soon as to yell at her for running off like she did.

Lynera had gone to sleep that morning with a head full of complicated feelings. Even in the sopor, her dreams had been troubled ones full of ominous portents. She dreamt of the caverns lying abandoned — of empty hallways and chambers where once there had been the pleasant sound of the jades going about their assigned duties. She dreamt of Lynera — alone and sobbing to herself, lamenting the loss of everyone she was responsible for.

She dreamt of something hidden in the deep caverns — something that only she and Daraya knew about. Something that she knew the Empire would be willing to kill for.

Lynera woke up in a state of panic, and she knew she wouldn’t be sleeping any more that day. Even once she was up out of the sopor, the lingering fear of the dreams still clung to her like a thick haze. She dressed quickly — normally she wouldn’t dare be up and about without being fully dressed, but all she could manage was a long, green flannel robe. She paced her respite chamber back and forth for a while, but it felt too confining — she needed to keep walking to keep her thoughts straight. To keep the dark ideas from forming.

She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door silently behind her. The caverns were so quiet at that hour — the grubs were kept primarily on a standard nocturnal schedule and the lusii tended to keep to that schedule. It might not be universally linked up, but by the small hours of the evening, everyone was almost always asleep. Lynera wandered those silent, empty hallways.

And she kept worrying. She worried about Daraya and whatever she might be encountering because of her stubborn insistence in having to always be doing her own thing. She worried about Bronya and what she would be going through trying to keep the caverns running efficiently even in the middle of such uncertainty outside.

She passed by the nursery — the lights were off and she could hear the tiny snores of the obstinate gold blood grub from inside. That made her smile — that such a tiny thing could matter so much in the world. By all rights, the grub should’ve been culled immediately for being too sickly, but Bronya had seen that they were cared for. She nursed the sickly grubs until they were healthy enough to go back in with the others. It was borderline seditious to do something like that, but Bronya was committed to it all the same.

She passed by the doors that led to the other respite chambers — the places where Lanque and Wanshi and all the other jades were (hopefully) sleeping soundly in their sopor. In the last half-sweep, Lynera had begun to really understand how Bronya felt about her charges. She didn’t see them as being a chore or a burden, but rather she saw them as being her responsibility… but also as her friends. Even though they didn’t always get along, Bronya wanted them to be okay with each other.

She passed by the door to Bronya’s respite chamber — set aside from the others and slightly larger, as befit her important station in the caverns. It had actually been Lanque’s room, due to his being the eldest jade by a few perigees, but he’d actually been willing to give that up after Bronya had shown him some kindness that he refused to talk about.

Lynera was walking past the door and preparing to circle back to her own room when she heard it… coming from inside Bronya’s room, she heard a sob. Lynera stopped and moved back to the door, listening quietly.

Another sob — there was no mistaking what it was. Putting her ear to the door, Lynera could hear the rhythm of someone crying.

Part of her wanted to walk back to her respite chamber — to acknowledge that she was witnessing something deeply personal that she had no right to intrude on. But another part of her — a part where her feelings ran deep and red — told her that she had no right to walk away from this.

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door.

The sobbing inside abruptly stopped. A sniffle, some footsteps, and then a softly muffled voice from the other side.

“Yes? Who is it?”

Lynera took a deep breath. “Bronya… it’s me…”

The door to the room opened with a click and Bronya was peering out the opening. She looked like she’d been up crying for a while — her face glistened in the soft light of the hallway. She was wearing the pajamas — the flannel ones that Lynera had made for her.

“I just… I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Lynera said softly. “It’s nothing — if you’re okay, I’ll go back to my room.”

Something shifted in Bronya’s expression — a softening that Lynera didn’t think she’d seen before. “No… that’s fine… 1 — it looks like you can’t sleep either, and 2 — I’m definitely not getting any rest tonight.” She sighed. “Would you like to come in for a bit?”

Lynera’s blood pusher felt like it was going to explode and she desperately hoped the light was low enough that Bronya wouldn’t notice the jade tint that had crept into her cheeks.

“Okay… if it’s okay. Just for a bit.”

Bronya stepped back from the door to let Lynera inside. She didn’t think she’d ever actually been inside Bronya's respite chamber before. The inside was pleasantly lit with the soft glow of illumination strips that wound their way along the ceiling, giving the faded, faintly-orange look of candlelight. Shelves lined the walls, all filled with neatly-organized books. In the corner was a desk — just as neatly-organized as the shelving.

In the other corner, to the right of the door, was a set of two armchairs sitting across from each other on top of a soft-looking rug. Bronya motioned for Lynera to sit in one of the chairs, while she took its opposite.

“I don’t… I thought maybe I would have friends over to chat sometimes,” Bronya said sheepishly, as if she felt the need to justify the chairs. “But 1 — I’m always so busy, 2 — I don’t have much energy for entertaining company, and 3 — I don’t… I don’t know that anyone else would want to come over.” Her face fell as she said the last bit, and Lynera could feel an ache in her pusher.

“Well… I’m glad to come over and talk to you. Even if it is the middle of the day.” Lynera laughed slightly. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Bronya shook her head. “You… you really weren’t. I was just…” she let her voice trail off, and one of her hands fidgeted with the flannel of her pajamas.

Lynera spoke quietly — “I don’t want to be improper… but I thought I heard you crying. Are you okay? You can talk to me, you know. About anything!” She smiled, but Bronya looked away quickly.

“I know that…” she sounded distant when she said it. “I know, and I really appreciate it. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.” She reached out and put a hand on Lynera’s knee. The robe didn’t quite fall below her knees when she was sitting down, and when Bronya’s hand brushed the bare skin, Lynera felt something shoot right up her spine.

“Of… of course,” Lynera managed to stammer out. “I care… you’re important… you deserve to be happy too.”

Bronya smiled and gave a small laugh. “Happy. That’s a funny word, isn’t it? Do you think we’ll ever really be able to say it without lying?”

“I think it’s…” Lynera paused and frowned. “I don’t think it’s impossible. Even if it’s just finding something small in the middle of all of this. Little things matter — that’s why you’re always doing small things for all of us, right? That’s why you’re always trying to make us happy! Because you think we deserve it… well… I think you deserve the same consideration, at least.”

Once again, she began to fidget with the material of her pajamas, worrying it back and forth between her thumb and index finger. Her eyes flitted between staring down at her knees to looking up at Lynera. After a few seconds of this, some kind of recognition sparked in her eyes and she clutched a handful of pajamas.

Understanding lit up her face.

“You.” It was all she said, and there was a small, sad smile.

Lynera shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“I should’ve known. I guess maybe 1 — I did know, 2 — I knew all along, and 3 — I was too cowardly to ask.” The smile was broader and sadder than before, and Lynera could definitely see the glint of tears in her eyes. “After all, it’s the same exact material.” She reached out and touched the edge of Lynera’s robes, and Lynera’s pusher thudded along harder than before.

Bronya laughed to herself — the sound of it was almost halfway between joy and pain. “How long did you spend making these, I wonder.” Her hand played with the pajamas. “And you never said anything. The anonymous gift… who else would it have been from than my closest friend here?”

“I just…” Lynera wasn’t sure what to say. She’d thought that she hid her craft so well… and she supposed she had. She almost never came out without being fully dressed. What way would Bronya have had to realize that the robe was the same material — that Lynera had felt that she was making some subtle connection to Bronya, even if it was something that the other woman would never know about.

She was crying again, bending over and clutching the pajamas and crying. “I’m 1 — a bad leader, 2 — a bad friend, and 3 — a big, stupid idiot.”

Lynera’s pusher felt like it was going to break — she leaned in and shook her head. “No! None of that is true! You’re here for all of us… you’re here for me!”

Bronya reached out and put a hand on Lynera’s cheek. “You know how the stories go… we’re jade bloods. We’re supposed to be… we’re not supposed to be held to our red feelings.” It was like she instantly recognized what she was implying, because Bronya began to blush furiously.

Lynera closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling of Bronya’s palm against the soft skin of her cheek. She didn’t think that she’d ever been touched in a way that felt so… intimate. “We’re not supposed to nurse sickly grubs back to health either… but we still do it…”

Her next thought felt almost traitorous to say — “...because maybe sometimes what we’re supposed to do and what we should do are two different things.”

When she opened her eyes, Bronya was much closer — leaning forward, looking into Lynera’s eyes. She put her other hand on Lynera’s opposite cheek. Bronya spoke, and the sound of it barely disturbed the silence of the room — “What do you think we _should_ do. Right here… right now.”

Lynera bit her bottom lip. “I…”

There wasn’t time to say anything else — Bronya was kissing her… she was kissing Bronya… Lynera closed her eyes tightly and the shiver from before went up and down her back. She was sure her face was bright green, but it didn’t matter. Bronya wouldn’t see it anyway…

Bronya pulled back a hair’s breadth and the heat of her breath was on Lynera’s lips. She was… panting? This felt positively _indecent._

And Lynera absolutely didn’t care.

The second time, she was the one who pushed forward — up out of the chair and forward in a way that would’ve felt awkward if she was thinking about the mechanics of it and not caught up in the fact that this was actually happening to her. Bronya leaned forward into the second kiss, meeting it with an intensity that Lynera hadn’t been expecting. Her hands went down to grasp Lynera’s robe, and when her grip tightened she brushed the bare skin underneath and Lynera gasped.

Bronya pulled back sharply. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have done that! I… I have no idea what’s wrong with me!” The look in her eyes was pleading and afraid. “That was inappropriate!”

“Why? Why was it inappropriate?” Lynera could hear a kind of desperation in her voice that she wasn’t sure she was entirely comfortable with — she wasn’t used to feeling so intensely _vulnerable,_ but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want this to stop.

Bronya shifted her gaze down. “Because… because… well 1 — I’m in charge and… 2 —...” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to do something because I’m in charge!”

Lynera looked down at her — at the hands that were still holding onto the edge of her robe. At the eyes that were filling with tears. At the jade flush in her cheeks. At the lips that had just been pressed up against her own.

“I did everything because I care about you.” Lynera put a hand on top of Bronya’s. “Not because you’re in charge and not because I was obligated… just because I care about you.”

“You can’t possibly mean that!” Bronya said sharply. “You’re confused about this… you… you don’t… can’t…” She sighed and shook her head.

Normally, Lynera knew that she would be a complete mess — her blood pusher was racing and she felt hot all over. But she felt emboldened by all of this. She leaned forward and kissed Bronya — not on the lips this time, but softly on the cheeks. When she pulled back, she saw Bronya biting her lip in and shaking slightly.

“Lynera… I’m not a wiggler. I knew you probably had some… flushed feelings for me. But I can’t just _say_ that kind of thing. God… even my own red relationship outside of the caves was so borderline inappropriate. It was good that it ended.”

Lynera shook her head. “She didn’t treat you nicely — she didn’t act like she cared about you. If you feel like you’re better off without that, it’s not because of the red feelings.” And suddenly, Lynera was crying — she wasn’t sure exactly _why_ even… except that… she knew exactly why.

She sniffled. “I can’t do this anymore! Even if there wasn’t a rebellion knocking on our doorstep and bombs going off, you’re going to be offworld soon! They’ve deferred it because no one else can take over, but it’s only a matter of time until they decide that I’m ready to step in. And then you’ll be sent to a conclave or something and I’ll never see you again!” She bit her lip hard — hard enough to draw blood — and let out a rough, ugly sob. “I can’t do that! I can’t just let you be sent away and not at least _try_ to let you know how I feel. I wish… I wish I’d said something a sweep ago.”

Bronya took a hand and gently wiped the traces of jade blood from Lynera’s lip.

“Okay,” she said, her voice only a whisper. She didn’t say anything else, but Lynera didn’t really think she had to. In the long pause that followed, her hands gently tucked in behind Lynera’s neck and drew her in closer — she was practically in Bronya’s lap now.

“Lynera… thank you for the pajamas.”

She leaned forward and kissed Lynera again, her lips warm and soft against Lynera’s mouth. The kiss lingered this time.

Lynera closed her eyes and pushed forward. She was in Bronya’s lap now, the robe spilling open and she could feel Bronya’s pajamas on her bare skin. She wasn’t sure how to describe the sensation — how to explain how _different_ it felt than anything she was used to. She didn’t even bother to try — instead, she just leaned into that feeling and savored the brush of skin-on-fabric and the gentle press of skin-on-skin that was her third kiss.

And for that moment, all the worry and fear and panic that had come to define Lynera’s life faded away.


	17. Oversight

the 5th night…

Everdim Temporary Respiteblocks, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0614 local time (2114 AUT)

Tyzias hadn’t been formally introduced to High Imperator Petrus Occsor before, but she didn’t need to be — she knew the man on sight. He was a legend in the Imperial services — more well-known than His Honorable Tyranny or the Chief Legislacerator. More feared too, by far. The stories only grew with time — the violet blood who’d lived for dozens of sweeps. Who’d overseen planetary bombardment on a mass scale. Who’d personally ordered the destruction of hundreds of alien worlds and rebel colonies.

The stories went on and one and each one of them was more extreme and terrifying than before. The worst part wasn’t that the stories felt like exaggerations, but that they felt like they were downplaying what he’d actually done.

Now she was staring directly at him and trying desperately not to start shaking. Stelsa was next to her, standing as still as possible and not saying a word. Something had happened that morning earlier on — an indigo named Zebruh Codakk had been found badly injured and naked in one of the rooms in the temporary respiteblocks. The bronze blood that had been singing during the performances was gone. It only took Tyzias a minute looking at the scene to know what had happened.

The High Imperator didn’t seem concerned by — or impressed with — this turn of events. He had sent an olive blood Sergeant to summon Tyzias and Stelsa to the corner respiteblock where he was staying, but she hadn’t known _why_ they were being brought in. Tyzias and Stelsa stood together, and Tyzias couldn’t help but think they were both having the same thought.

_How are we going to get out of this alive?_

Finally, after leaving them to stand in silence for what felt like forever, the High Imperator turned to them and narrowed his eyes. When he spoke, the voice that came out was surprisingly even and quiet — but there was the weight of dozens of sweeps behind it.

“You are, of course, aware of who I am, correct?”

Tyzias nodded quickly, and she and Stelsa answered almost in unison. “Yes, High Imperator.”

He nodded. “Good. Then I don’t need to re-hash the same nonsense about the pathetic indigo who nearly got himself killed by a lowly bronze blood. A mere folk musician who was somehow able to not only nearly murder a so-called _superior_ higher blood, but was also able to slip out undetected.” He looked from Stelsa to Tyzias… and then shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

_What the fuck is going on here?!_ She would never actually say it out loud, but Tyzias didn’t understand what was happening — surely this all meant _something_ to the high bloods.

“I can see from your faces that you find this confusing. That you, perhaps, wonder why I don’t seem especially concerned about any of this. That’s because I’m not. I don’t care about some escaped bronze, or a failed excuse for an indigo, or that overbearing purple and his ridiculous traveling show.”

The High Imperator smiled — it was a horrible sight to behold. The smile of death — a smile that had delighted as entire cities burned at the pleasure of the previous Empress… a smile that would delight as many more burned at the pleasure of the current.

“My concern is with the Empire, not with some petty blood squabbles or ridiculous showmanship. So, go on… ask me what I would have you do.” The tone was one of absolute command.

Tyzias, her voice trembling, spoke first. “So… what would you have us do, High Imperator?”

“The only reason I am here is because Alternia is beset by rebels — low blood filth and their deviant allies in the higher echelons who would see our Empire burn to the ground simply to warm their hands for one day. I am here to find these traitors and eradicate them.” He glared, but it didn’t seem like it was actually directed at them. “The clown wants to hold a trial for at least one of them — a showy affair that’s all fluff and production and nothing of substance. The Empress will be delighted, so I will indulge her if possible.”

He paused, but it wasn’t time for them to speak. Instead, he turned and walked toward the respiteblock window before speaking again.

“You will help find out who is responsible for the bombing and the inception of the rebellion. You will help me and anyone I deem worthy to hunt down these traitors and bring them to heel. I am aware that Mallek Adalov is in no way the leader — from all reports I’ve seen he is nothing more than a low-grade subversive mostly insulated from consequences by virtue of his place on the hemospectrum. But…” He trailed off and looked thoughtful. “He is obviously working with someone else. You will help find out who. Ultimately, we will burn anyone who stands in the way of the Empire.”

The High Imperator waved to dismiss them — there was no other discussion. They had their orders, and they had no choice in whether to carry them out.

* * *

“This is insane, Zizi! We can’t do this!” Stelsa paced the floor of their temporary respiteblock, wringing her hands together. “We’re not experienced — we don’t know what we’re doing — this is absolutely insane!”

Tyzias leaned heavily against the desk and shook her head. “I know. I know… Stels… please…”

She crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed Tyzias’ hands. “Zizi, we have to get out of here. We have to run! The longer we stay in this, the closer we’re getting to being culled!” What she was saying wasn’t making any sense. There wasn’t anywhere for them to run to and there was nowhere they could go that would be far enough away from the Legiscorpus… or the High Imperator. Tyzias’ hands began to shake violently, and she clenched her fists to try to stop it.

The shaking wasn’t stopping. She could feel the panic rising inside of her and getting ready to spill out. And she didn’t want Stelsa to see this side of her — didn’t want her matesprit to see just how out of control she was feeling.

Tyzias leaned in and dropped her voice. “Stels… listen to me! I am trying to be okay right now… I’m trying to keep this together so we can figure out what we need to do. There is no way we’re going to be able to get away from this.”

Stelsa leaned her forehead against Tyzias’ and closed her eyes… and she was crying. “I know. I know, Zizi… I know we can’t just run away. I know we have to do this but… I really don’t want to.”

“Look… I’ll get in touch with Gor-gor and find out what’s going on up there. We’ll take this one step at a time.” She bent over and kissed Stelsa on the cheek. “Okay?”

“No… it’s not okay!” Stelsa insisted, but her lip quivered and finally she bent her head and sighed. “But… I know we need to. I’ll go talk to the Sergeant that we saw before… that’d be better than trying to go to Marvus or… the High Imperator.”

“Yeah, she’ll have at least some idea of what the fuck is going on.” Tyzias reached out and put her hands on Stelsa’s cheeks. “Please be careful — this feels dangerous right now.”

She nodded — and then she leaned in and kissed Tyzias on the lips. She closed her eyes and let the feeling run through her — savored the taste of her matesprit’s lipstick lingering on her tongue — and wished so desperately that they could stay in the respiteblock together and do anything except face the reality that was crashing into them.

“I love you, Zizi…” Tyzias’ eyes widened — she said it so matter-of-factly. “Please be careful.”

Stelsa turned and she was out of the respiteblock without another word. Tyzias leaned heavily on the desk, took out her palmhusk, and sent a message to Tagora Gorjek.

ferventnihilist began chatting with bettercallgorgor at 0634 AST (2134 AUT)

Tyzias

okay gorgor let’s fucking go   
i need informmmmation off of you and i need it right the fuck nowwww   
i assummmme you’re awwwware of wwwwhat’s been happening dowwwwn here?

Tagora

Yes. Things really got fucked all the way up down there.   
And I guess we’re going with a different official story?   
Fun. What’s that about? *_________

Tyzias

fucking shut it sore-gor   
just fucking   
stop

Tagora

Okay what the hell, Tizzy?   
I know you’re stressed and all but this is obviously being played up for the high bloods.   
We play along, everything’s fine. *_________

Tyzias

the fucking high immmmperator wwwwants us to investigate   
he doesn’t care about the fucking clowwwwn trial or anything that happened here

Tagora

Wait… what the fuck?!   
What happened down there? *_________

Tyzias

the rust blood mmmmusician — chixie — she beat the shit out of an indigo and ran   
but the high immmmperator doesn’t fucking care   
he wwwwants us to hunt dowwwwn wwwwhoever mmmmallek wwwwas in touch wwwwith   
he thinks that sommmmeone else wwwwas involved   
actually i’d say he knowwwws it

Tagora

You know you need to be careful, right? This is ruthless and you’re going to get caught in the middle of it. *_________

Tyzias

thanks   
i definitely didn’t knowwww that   
you got anything that’s actually useful?   
because i’mmmm freaking out here and so is mmmmy mmmmatesprit

Tagora

Legiscorpus has been quiet for the most part.   
I mean, given the circumstances. Mallek Adalov is the most wanted troll on Alternia.   
That’s about all I’ve got — I’m trying to keep my head down here for my own reasons.   
Like survival. *_________

Tyzias

i swwwwear to emmmmpress you’re so fucking infuriating   
there’s really nothing else you can do?   
aren’t you supposed to be supporting our investigation?

Tagora

Fine. There’s one person I know who might be able to help shed some light on things.   
No guarantees, but I’ll see what I can do, okay? *_________

ferventnihilist began chatting with s_sezyat at 0648 AST (2148 AUT)

Tyzias

hey   
i knowwww i just talked to you and all but   
  
i love you a lot   
please be safe — i need you to be safe

Stelsa

ZIZI   
I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL   
I’LL BE SAFE TRUST ME   
I PICKED YOU FOR MY MATESPRIT SO I MUST HAVE AT LEAST SOME SENSE RIGHT?

Tyzias

heh   
you mmmmake an excellent point

Stelsa

ANYWAY I LOVE YOU TOO ZIZI   
PLEASE STAY SAFE AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN   
SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON HERE

There was one other person that Tyzias wanted to talk to. She’d have to be careful about it, because she had a feeling that the High Imperator wouldn’t exactly approve and then she’d be dead. But there was some piece to this puzzle still missing, and it felt more and more like the runaway bronze blood might have something to do with it.

* * *

Everdim Medicenter, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0819 local time (2319 AUT)

If it had been a lowblood who’d been injured, then the likely end result would’ve been immediate culling… or maybe simply being tossed in the gutter to die. But if you were a highblood, things were different. The Medicenter wasn’t far from the temporary respiteblocks, and Tyzias was able to get there on foot inside of a half hour.

It was, she thought, important to travel by foot as much as possible. She had a lot of leeway to move as a member of the Legiscorpus, but that would only extend so far if she started moving into areas where the highbloods made their lives.

Inside, the Medicenter was staffed primarily by jade bloods — often selected for their training in the caverns that prioritized an understanding of troll biology and general medical care. But unlike the staff at the for-profit cull-factories that were the lowblood Medimalls, these jades continued their training in a wide variety of medical and surgical technicques.

Tyzias flashed her Legiscorpus ID to a few folks, explained vaguely why she was there, and eventually ended up at the end of the bed in a private room with the name “Z. CODAKK” on a placard by the door.

Zebruh looked like he was in a bad way — his head was swathed in bandages and he looked disoriented. As a highblood, he had access to certain advanced medical techniques that not only kept him alive, but ensured a fast and complete recovery. Tyzias wasn’t sure what had happened, exactly, but she felt a growing suspicion in her gut.

Fortunately, he was awake when she walked in. He smiled weakly at her.

“Oh, hey… you look reallll pretty. You come to wish me well?”

She flashed the Legiscorpus ID and frowned. “No. My name is Neophyte Tyzias Entykk I’m here on behalf of the Division of Legislacerators, Investigative Branch. I’d like to ask you a few questions about what happened this twilight, if you don’t mind.”

Zebruh’s expression soured, but he still kept on the same basic dopey smile. “Oh, sure, babe. Whatever you need.”

“Right. You wanna tell me what the fuck happened?”

He put on an expression of deep hurt. “Well, I’m not sure exactly, Legislacerator… you see, my matesprit and I were just relaxing together after the grueling tour schedule for this _very_ important Imperially-mandated performance and… well, she just went _crazy_ and started hitting me with a liquor bottle.” Zebruh put a hand to his forehead, and Tyzias couldn’t tell if he was in genuine pain or not. “Honestly I don’t know if she’d been drinking before — I think she might’ve been.”

_He’s such a fucking liar._ Everything he said made no sense at all, and the way he was talking to her wasn’t helping his case in the slightest. But this was a case where simply saying that might not have the desired result. Zebruh wasn’t the one she needed to talk to… it was the bronze blood — Chixie.

“Well, I’ve been told that this is still a high priority, even with everything else that’s happening. What I really need is information that could help me locate your matesprit. We can’t bring someone to justice if we can’t find them.”

He nodded, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “Oh yeah, babe! Well… she’s got her place in the city and she plays at a few clubs and bars and stuff regularly. I’ll give you the addresses. The only other thing is… I was just asking her casually about this conversation she was having this twilight and she said she was talking to someone whose screenname was _snakeBytes._ ” — he spelled out the name so she had it down correctly.

It wasn’t much.

But it was something.

She’d have to rely on Stelsa to keep things moving on her end while she chased down whatever leads she could. Maybe everyone else was convinced that this was just another bronze with a bone to pick with the highbloods, but it felt like more than that to Tyzias. Whatever was going on — she was absolutely determined to figure it out.


	18. The Hidden City

the 5th night…

The Hidden Quarter, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0510 local time (2010 AUT)

Everdim was originally built in stages — an end result of an endless piling of one layer of new construction on top of the previous ones. Whether it was due to the ruination left in the wake of various drone strikes or the simple desire to expand on what was already there, the final product was the same. Like a layered cake of civilization, there were strata of abandoned buildings existing above and below each other.

Elwurd had eventually led them down into one such place — into a buried cavern that opened up to reveal an entire neighborhood under the surface. It was completely sheltered from the light of the Alternian sun, allowing them to walk with their cloaks down. Daraya looked around in awe — it was like if someone took the jade caverns and scaled them up and then built an entire miniature city inside.

“It’s a lot, huh?” Elwurd asked her when she saw Daraya’s wide-eyed expression. “I would say that I’m surprised one of our little underground concerts never set up here but… let’s just say there’s a reason why I’m not surprised and leave it at that.”

Daraya nodded to her and kept looking around… and as she looked, she began to _see._ There were people in the ruins — keeping out of sight, but definitely there. She glanced at least one figure holding what looked like a rifle.

Elwurd saw this in her eyes too and smiled. “Yeah, now you’re starting to get it. There’s people down here that prefer to be left to their own devices. Don’t worry though… they’re on our side. We just need to go make our introductions.”

She didn’t elaborate further, and they kept walking downhill and further underground. Looking closer at the buildings, Daraya could tell that many of them were actually being repaired or maintained. More people moved around behind the facades — it was as if they were actually walking a carefully selected path through the ruins that was designed to maximize concealment of what was really going on.

Daraya dropped back to walk next to Mallek.

“Did you know about any of this?” she asked quietly. Mallek shook his head.

“I’ve been in contact with these people for a bit, but they never took me here.”

From up ahead, Elwurd turned back and smiled at them. “Yeah, they never had any reason to actually take you here.”

Mallek spoke up — “You talk like you’re not a part of it.” And Elwurd shrugged without responding. They all lapsed back into silence as they kept walking. Down. Down through an underpass under a ruined government building, then out the other side.

As soon as they crossed out the other side, the true nature of the place revealed itself — there was a fully functioning city down here. Buildings had been repaired and trolls walked all over. Not just trolls, Daraya noticed, but lusii as well. It was just as active as any neighborhood, but everything was tucked away underground. It was worth noting that many of the trolls were armed — it looked like they had Alternian Army weapons.

“Welcome to the Hidden Quarter,” Elwurd said with a bit of a dramatic flourish. “One of the first truly free places on Alternia.”

It was awe-inspiring — the sight of what basically amounted to a city square entirely underground. It had been cleaned up and repaired, and Daraya could see shops, hives, and public spaces all populated by what looked like dozens of trolls. It was inspiring… and terrifying.

“Aren’t you worried about the drones coming down here?” she asked with a voice that shook as she spoke. Elwurd shrugged.

“I don’t actually spend that much time down here. You can ask the big guy when we go talk to him.”

It wasn’t any kind of answer, but Daraya realized it was all she was going to get for the moment.

* * *

Their path took them behind a series of ruined facades and back through another barricade formed by the ruins. It occurred to Daraya that this design was most likely completely intentional — it walled off sections of the Hidden Quarter and made it much harder to see how large it all was at a single glance. That seemed like part of the answer to her question about drones, if only a small part.

Once they’d crossed through that section, the buildings opened up again to reveal another open plaza that led down a series of sweeping steps and ended with a single, massive building. It was clearly labeled on the side — _Elysia Library._

“That’s where we’re going?” Daraya asked Elwurd — the cerulean nodded at her.

“You got it, beautiful.” Daraya blushed at this and shuffled her feet. They kept walking down the plaza, with the library growing ever-larger above as they approached it. The air was still and quiet, but with the barriers formed by the ruins it was impossible to really hear anything outside of what was happening in the plaza itself.

When they arrived at the foot of the library’s concrete steps, Elwurd stopped and pulled out her palmhusk to message someone. A few minutes later, a troll appeared at the top of the library stairs. He was tall, bespectacled, and dressed in a dark suit with a bright blue tie. He descended the stairs and nodded at Elwurd.

When the troll spoke, his voice was measured… it was as if he were picking each word only after an in-depth analysis of all possible options. “Greetings. My name is Galekh Xigisi, and I bid you welcome to our community. I trust that your journey here was a pleasant one.”

Mallek stepped forward, shaking his head. “No! No it wasn’t a fucking _pleasant one_ you overbearing piece of shit! You want to tell me what the entire fuck is going on here?! Why am I suddenly wanted for an attack that didn’t even fucking happen the way they said it did?!”

“You are clearly upset,” Galekh said calmly. “Let us retire to the interior and we can further discuss this matter.” He looked over at Elwurd and nodded — “Your services will not be required at this time, Ms. Elwurd. Feel free to depart to… whatever it is you do when not engaged in productive labor.”

With a short smirk, Elwurd skipped down the steps. She stopped as she passed Daraya and passed her a small slip of paper. “My Chittr info — hit me up sometime if you’re feeling lonely, cutie.” With a wink, she was down the stairs and walking away down the length of the plaza.

Galekh motioned for the rest to follow and began to walk up the stairs. Before long, they’d crossed the threshold of the doors into the library building itself. Inside, Daraya could see that a considerable amount of effort had been put into preserving both the building and the books inside. It was lined with literature — books covering shelves in a way that utterly dwarfed the jade cavern’s library.

“Holy fucking shit,” Daraya muttered. She heard Galekh _hmph_ from up ahead.

“Indeed! I would ask that you hold all questions until we make ourselves comfortable in the study.”

He led them off to one side and down a short hallway, finally arriving at the glass-paned door to a smaller side room. It was pleasantly lit with low-power lamps and furnished with a heavy desk and a set of comfortable-looking chairs. Without another word, Galekh seated himself behind the desk and motioned for the others to take their places in the chairs.

Once they were all seated, Galekh cleared his throat. “Excuse me! I would like to formally welcome you to the settlement that the residents have so charmingly taken to referring to as the _Hidden Quarter._ I’m sure you have many, many questions… but I feel that a short bit of exposition might shed light on many of them… if you’ll indulge me a moment?”

Daraya looked at Mallek, then at Cirava, who both shrugged. Mallek nodded to Galekh. “I don’t see how it could make anything _worse_ I guess.

Galekh smiled and tapped the desk sharply. “Very well. You see… once upon a time, there was a district in the city of Everdim whose name was _Elysia._ You have no doubt noticed that the building we are now sitting in is prominently named as the Elysia Library.” He nodded at each of the three of them before he continued. “You see, the district of Elysia was something of an anomaly — it was founded by a group of indigo bloods with the endorsement of then-heiress Trizza Tethis about seven sweeps ago. Sheltered underground from the burning sun to allow cycle-long activity, the idea was to be a place to fully develop Alternian arts. The Heiress was specifically interested in the idea of Alternia building its culture, particularly with the idea of the highbloods leading those lower on the hemospectrum to enlightenment.”

He cocked his head and shrugged. “Not an idea I necessarily find to be without merit, but maybe a bit reductive and misguided. In any case, the Heiress endorsed the creation of this district and allowed a limited number of certain of the lower blood classes to be housed here with the intent of exposing them to higher culture.”

Galekh sighed and bent over the desk, staring down at something that wasn’t there.

“Why haven’t I ever heard of this?” Mallek asked. “Why is any of this the way it is?”

Galekh looked up and fixed him with a withering stare. “You were still a wiggler. I wasn’t even fully mature — neither was the Heiress. I think to her it must’ve seemed like a grand project to work on while the former Empress was offworld engaging in her endless conquest. For a while, the district actually worked out quite well. To the point where some were saying it would be a new model of Alternian society. I was here for a while — in training in the school that used to stand at the far end of the district. I transferred out eventually when it became restrictive, but I still knew about this place.”

“So what happened to it? You haven’t actually answered the fucking question,” Mallek said, refusing to drop the issue. Galekh shrugged at him.

“Trizza Tethis grew up. And her opinion on this place slowly changed and then… I do not know if it was part of that gradual process or the result of her combat with the former Empress or the ritual wherein she took over that mantle when she emerged victorious. At this point it would simply be an academic exercise to try to identify the specific point or gradient wherein Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty grew dissatisfied with Elysia as a concept.” He stopped talking and a look of sadness crept into his eyes.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter because the end result was exactly the same regardless. Drones came to Elysia and the same thing happened here that always happens when drones come to a district. Fire, blood, death… and then only the omni-present silence of the grave.” Galekh sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “The original council of indigo bloods was completely wiped clean. A tragedy — so much lost culture. But… the good news is that the district was left relatively intact, all things considered.”

Daraya nodded at him. “So you pulled together some of your friends and you’re starting this place up again?”

Galekh frowned — Daraya realized that she was _close_ to being right, but there was a piece still missing. But Daraya had been educated in the jade caverns — she had been raised sheltered, but not unintelligent.

“Oh shit… you’re not trying to make another Elysia… you’re trying to make a base for the rebellion!” Her eyes widened and her mouth twisted up into a broad grin. “Oh fuck _yes_ that’s so goddamn cool! You know for a stuck-up blue blood you’re pretty fucking cool.”

Galekh smiled — it seemed like an expression he only allowed himself on occasion. “We have a diverse council of various members of the hemospectrum — myself, another indigo blood, at least one ceruleans, and a couple of teals who are at least sympathetic to the general cause. This is of course only the leadership council — the actual groundswell of support from members of all castes is what truly drives our revolutionary consciousness.”

Daraya clapped her hands and turned to Mallek. “This is great! Mallek, they can…” she saw Mallek’s face and trailed off.

“I don’t trust this,” he said softly. “How do I know you didn’t have something to do with the bombing?”

Galekh… laughed. “Oh, of course we did. I mean, not me personally — that would be absurd. But it was absolutely one of our associates. I will freely admit that I didn’t quite predict the specific direction that the Empire decided to take with the fallout from the attack. That Marvus Xoloto is something of a wildcard when it comes to Imperial politics, isn’t he?”

Daraya looked over at Galekh — her eyes were watering and her mouth hung open. “Wait… what the _fuck?!_ You had someone blow up all those people… for what?! How are you any different than the fucking Empire?!”

“Sometimes it is necessary to engage in tactics that one finds personally distasteful in order to achieve noble goals,” Galekh said quietly and without a trace of irony. “Surely as one of the jade order you would understand that better than most. Or do you find the idea of culling unsuitable grubs to be personally fulfilling? It is not unheard of.”

Daraya snarled back at him — “Fuck you! Bronya doesn’t do that shit! She actually _cares_ about the grubs and maybe if you were actually a revo—” Galekh cut her off with a wave of his hand.

“Bronya? Oh, that must be your Prioress, right? How novel. Perhaps our movement could learn a few things from her, then. My point was only that revolution is often a messy process that requires sacrifice — that was all.”

_Yeah, but you won’t sacrifice yourself for it, you stuffy fuck!_ Daraya didn’t say anything, choosing instead to sit back in her chair with her arms crossed.

Mallek spoke next — “Fine. Even if I accept all this, what the fuck’s the next move? I’m wanted by literally everyone. I can’t go anywhere without being culled on sight or dragged back to the clowns for some kind of fucking joke of a trial. Either way I’m fucking dead.”

“I would suggest that none of you worry about this. We have adequate housing for all three of you.” He smiled at them the way that you might look at a small grub who’d just learned to squeak properly.

“Fine! But you’re still not answering my fucking questions!” Mallek shouted and brought a fist down in his lap. “What are we supposed to _do?!_ You say you’re revolutionaries but you’re just going to have us sit around until we lose our shit?!”

Galekh’s face lit up with a smile — Daraya didn’t like the way it looked. She saw so much hidden beneath the surface, but she wasn’t sure what any of it was. That made her more nervous than anything, and she could tell from his expression that Mallek was of a similar mind.

“Don’t worry about any of it. Trust me when I say that, while I cannot reveal the details at this time, we have a plan in motion. Also trust me when I say that these machinations are nearing their next phase, and will soon be made apparent. Until then… please trust that we have only the best intentions.”

Everything about this — everything about the situation and the way that Galekh talked. Every piece of it screamed at Daraya that something was fundamentally wrong. She had no proof — not a single shred of evidence that this was anything other than what Galekh said. But Daraya had learned that sometimes she needed to trust her gut instincts.

And right then, every single one of them was telling her that this was going to go bad, and it was going to go bad soon.


	19. Artificial Starlight

the 5th night…

Lowblood District, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1143 local time (0243 AUT) 

Every step that Chixie took was one she was sure would be her last — every move being certainly hounded by the drones, or the Legiscorpus. As soon as she ran out of the temporary respiteblocks — still spattered with traces of Zebruh Codakk’s blood — she knew that her remaining time on Alternia could be measured in hours.

And she had never felt freer because of it. Even if she was destined to death at the metallic claws of a drone or to a humiliating show trial, every breath she took away from him was a free one. Even a short life on the run was better than the long, painful days she’d spent subject to his whims. Looking back, anything was better than that. It hadn’t been a physical prison, but it was a prison all the same.

As the twilight turned to full night and the hours wore on, it got easier to think. It seemed less likely that the drones would be coming right away. Maybe because they genuinely couldn’t find her, or maybe because they didn’t care. In either case, it gave her time to plan out her next move.

She reached the lowblood district under the glittering life of the stars overhead and the familiar thrum of it was comforting. Lowbloods were everywhere — walking from hive to work and back — heading out with their friends — going on about their lives. It felt like such a long time ago that she was ever able to enjoy those things… if that was ever really the case in such a world.

Part of her wanted to go back hive — to go to check on Squirrelmom and be somewhere she felt safe. It was appealing… and it would get her killed. Chixie didn’t go back. Instead, she found her way down to the water where the trash barges pulled in and stood there. It stank, but the breeze coming off the water was almost pleasant as long as she stood somewhere she wasn’t getting hit directly with the fumes off the barges.

She sat down in the middle of a pile of trash disposal bins and worked her way down in the middle of them, staying out of sight. Up above, the stars twinkled, save for a set of them that clustered together that sat unblinking. Chixie shook her head and looked down at her hands.

“What am I supposed to do?” she muttered to herself. She needed to get in touch with the people at the underground concerts — the people who were the revolutionary thinkers. Maybe one or two of them knew someone who could actually help her disappear. She’d need to go get Squirrelmom, but then she could stay on the run. She didn’t have a matesprit to take with her… or to worry about her.

Chixie bowed her head… and she began to sob into her hands. Everything that had happened started to come back all at once — the shaking started down in her stomach and worked its way all up her body. She felt her stomach twist… and then she leaned over and emptied the contents of her stomach into the side of one of the trash containers. It wasn’t much to empty, and she was soon hunched over, dry heaving out nothing.

She didn’t even hear the troll approach until she heard a deep, even voice from above.

“Excuse me, miss? Do you mind if I look through these?”

Her blood pusher jumped and she shot back against the bins, banging them into each other and knocking an empty one on its side. Standing over her was a troll with shaggy hair and a broad-brimmed hat. They pulled a mask up over their face — a mask decorated with an olive green symbol. Chixie struggled to get to her feet.

“Who the fuck are you?” Her throat was rough from vomiting and she could taste bile on her tongue. “What are you doing here?!”

The troll — probably an olive blood — put up their hands. “Whoa! No no — I’m not here to hurt you or anything… just getting some supplies is all.” They gestured down at the trash that had spilled when Chixie knocked over the collection bin. She looked up, confused.

“Supplies? It’s… trash.”

They shrugged and didn’t respond for a moment, then simply grunted. “You should come back to my hive and see the art I’ve got. It’s quite impressive and… I feel like you could use a chance to wash up a little bit.”

Chixie looked down at her clothing — the sweater that now smelled faintly of vomit and the shoes with dabs of dried blood. “It’s fine…”

“I insist,” the other troll said with a shake of their head. “It’s by the water… but a part that doesn’t smell too bad. Please… come and take a rest at least. I can’t stand to leave someone back out in the alley like this.”

“Fine.” Chixie hoped that it wasn’t a trap… or if it was, that she wouldn’t live long enough to realize the mistake.

* * *

The hive was, as promised, down by a part of the water that was sheltered from where the garbage barges collected. As they walked up, Chixie saw a series of what appeared to be large piles of trash near the hive itself.

“This is a lot of… uh… trash?” Chixie said hesitantly.

They smiled at her. “No — it’s art.” They reached past her and began to fish through the refuse looking for something that Chixie couldn’t even begin to imagine. “I make art!”

“Huh.” She looked over the piles as they approached the hive itself. “How… how does that work for you?”

They shrugged. “Good enough. How’s singing work for _you?_ ” She felt herself freeze in place, but they laughed. “Don’t worry — I know you from the video broadcast. Chixie Roixmr. _Ballad of a Drone Maintenance Worker_ and all that. I really like that song.”

“Oh… okay. And you are?”

“Charun is what they call me,” they said quickly. “I make my art and I keep to myself, mostly.” They opened the door and motioned for Chixie to walk inside. With no small degree of nervousness, Chixie stepped through the door.

Inside, the hive was surprisingly neat and cozy. Various bits of junk were piled up, but everything looked clean and remarkably well-organized. In the corner of the room, a white racoon — clearly a lusis — sat and stared directly at Chixie. Charun nodded over at them.

“Don’t mind Racoonparent — they’re just worried about me. I don’t usually bring company over — especially not pretty-looking company…”

Chixie’s breath hitched in her chest. “Can you… not say that about me.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Charun put up their hands again. “I really didn’t mean anything by it! I’m sorry — I don’t know what you’ve been going through. Why don’t you take a seat outside on the balcony and I’ll make some tea.”

The balcony door sat at the edge of the main room, leading to a small balcony overlooking the water with a pair of chairs and a small table set between them. Chixie sat down and leaned back — the stars were still there twinkling. She took a deep breath and held it — and let it out. And she was feeling a little bit better to not be out in the open. Finally, she gave herself a moment to simply relax and listen to the sound of the water lapping up against the edge of the shore. She closed her eyes.

It wasn’t clear how long had passed, but Chixie was startled by the sound of a mug of tea being set on the table next to her.

“Careful, it’s really hot,” Charun said to her. They sat down in the other chair and clutched their own mug close to their chest. “Sorry, I don’t usually have company over. Especially not semi-famous company like yourself!”

Chixie narrowed her eyes. “And you don’t… you don’t think it’s weird that I’m here, with everything that’s happening?”

“What do you mean? I figured you just headed out and had a bit too much to drink or ate something bad.” They sounded genuinely confused.

_They didn’t say anything. Whatever happened after I ran, they’re keeping this quiet._ It was very unlike the Alternian Empire to be subtle, and the fact that no alarm had been raised made her feel a sense of creeping terror that was impossible to ignore.

“You really haven’t heard anything?”

Charun shrugged. “I keep an ear out, you know… but no. Are you in some kind of trouble?” Without waiting for an answer, they shook their head. “Don’t say — it’s fine either way. I don’t like the Empire any more than you do. _Ballad of a Drone Maintenance Worker_... that’s my enlistment card, you know?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really? When do you have to report?”

They smiled sadly. “Next perigee. So I’ve got another perigee with Racoony and my art and then…” They didn’t have to finish — Chixie knew the rest. As much as she hated it, she knew that nothing had changed yet. No matter how many vaguely-rebellious songs she sang… nothing ever changed.

She leaned back and looked up at the stars again — this time Charun joined her. They pointed up at the sky — “You see that group of dots that isn’t twinkling? Those aren’t stars — that’s the Imperial Fleet. There’s the Iustitia and the Auctoritatis — the ships for the Legislacerators and the High Court. All the little ones clustered around are support ships — they stay in a low orbit so you can see them pretty clearly.”

“They’re actually nice like this… I wish that pretty dots of light is all they ever were.”

Charun nodded. “Oh, of course.”

The two of them settled back into their chairs and stared up at the little group of solid pinpricks of light in the sky. For the first time in days, Chixie gave herself permission to relax.

The smaller of the two dots suddenly flared to life, tripling in size in the space of a fraction of a second and then flaring out.

Chixie stood up, her blood pusher racing, and clutched at the railing. “What the fuck was that?!”

Charun was shaking their head and chewing frantically on their bottom lip. “Something happened!”

“Yeah no shit something happened!” Chixie paced back to the door and then back again. Against the starfield above, the dot was slowly expanding again — moving. Gradually growing bigger… and bigger…

The dot began to flare brightly — consumed by fire.

A fire that wouldn’t be extinguished.


	20. Consumed by Fire

the 5th night…

En route to the Iustitia, 0346 AUT 

Polypa didn’t think she’d ever been in an actual inter-orbital shuttle, and if she was being fully honest with herself it was more than a little bit terrifying. The craft rattled and shook as it pushed itself into low orbit. The sensation of weight left and she was floating up against the restraint harness that had her strapped in… the shuttle was too small to have a gravity generator like the larger vessels that hung in orbit around the planet.

Imperator Petrus had specifically asked her to come with him, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. Mostly terrified — although she figured if he was going to randomly kill her on a whim it wouldn’t matter much how she felt about it. They left the Legiscorpus matesprits (the ones who fucked too loudly) and the clown (whose fucking preferences Polypa gratefully knew nothing about) back behind on-planet to attend to their own duties.

But there was no way that the Imperator could ignore what had just happened. And Polypa had been handed a portable computer by some Specialist and told she was now promoted to executive officer — effective immediately. The Imperator nodded and said nothing, but the meaning was clear enough. _Serve well or serve in hell_ — that was what they always said in the Army.

The Auctoritatis had sent out a distress signal immediately after the attack, but it took about ten minutes for the information to reach the Imperator. Polypa had been there when the message played… the transcript of it was now burning itself into the screen of the portable computer she held in her lap.

Message received from Auctoritatis_Emergency at 0326 AUT

Auctoritatis Emergency Comms

This is Auctoritatis Command actual transmitting on all emergency channels.

An explosion has damaged our primary thrusters and caused extensive hull damage.   
Main hangers have been destroyed.   
Mass casualties in engineering, weapons… everywhere.   
Gravity generator is offline, all defensive systems are down, incoming comms are down.   
We are listing planetward and cannot maintain orbit with auxiliary thrusters.   
We have one hour to the critical threshold, maybe less.   
All emergency escape systems are offline.

We’re not sure, but this looks like it was a deliberate attack.   
This transmission will repeat.

Polypa hadn’t even bothered to ask whether or not they were planning to mount a rescue of any kind. The Fleet might’ve been willing to potentially sacrifice a few rust bloods to pull out command staff, especially given the number of purple bloods that lived on the Auctoritatis, but this situation was hopeless. The Auctoritatis was going to hit a point where they would burn up on re-entry. Maybe not all of the ship all at once, given how large it was, but it would surely kill the personnel on board and leave the remains as nothing more than an especially large piece of space debris to eventually hit the planet.

Whoever had done this had declared open war on the Alternian Empire — to attack the High Court’s flagship like that. It was almost as serious as attempting an assassination on the Empress herself, and the response in kind would be dire.

“Sergeant Goezee.” The High Imperator’s voice was low and even — he didn’t even sound upset. Which, Polypa was quickly learning, was a very bad sign for anyone on the other end of things.

“Yes, Imperator Petrus.”

“Give me the status on any Fleet carriers that are currently in orbit or within a cycle’s distance.”

Polypa quickly checked the computer — everything tied in to the Fleet information banks in a way that gave her almost instant access to the information. “The Ignus is holding to the outer lane two cycles out. That’s the closest carrier.”

The High Imperator growled and nodded. “Fine. It’ll do. Send them a priority recall to Alternian orbit to await further instruction. What’s the capacity on the Ignus?”

She scanned the ship’s information. “Sir… it looks like a full wing of strike drones and a flight of orbital bombers.”

“Ground troops?” The High Imperator asked, his voice sounding dangerous. Polypa switched over to the screen for the personnel summary.

“Full standard planetary assault division.” It was a thousand Army soldiers, including at least a hundred specialized assault commandos. “It looks like the Ignus was going to be leaving on an expedition in a few cycles.”

“Well, they have new orders,” Imperator Petrus said with narrowed eyes. “Make sure their commander understands the nature of the situation. This isn’t some Fleet bureaucracy — this is a personal request from me.”

“Yes, Imperator Petrus.” Polypa finished typing in the request as quickly as she could. She put the High Imperator’s name on it — that would have the desired effect. “I’ve sent the request to the commander of the Ignus.”

“Very good. Let me know when they respond. Now… what’s the status of the Auctoritatis?”

The Auctoritatis had stopped reporting its full status back to the Fleet network — most likely a result of the damaged they’d sustained — but she was able to pull a decent amount back from the records. The rest was supplemented by other sources — ships in the vicinity and orbital observation platforms — and automatically compiled by the computer systems. It wasn’t a pretty picture — and it wasn’t one that spoke of any hope for the survivors aboard the Auctoritatis.

“Sir, the Auctoritatis is still dropping toward the planet. They’re operating on auxiliary thrusters only… even those are failing. Current reported casualties are approximately fifty percent of personnel, including most of the Subjuggulators on board.”

“Do the reports give attack vector estimates?”

“Not much, sir — just that the damage and explosion is consistent with a medium-grade planetary suppression munition.”

The High Imperator made a noise halfway between thoughtful and furious. “So, Sergeant, the same kind of armament used to attack the Training Command. Something that I hardly think our cerulean friend Mallek Adalov would be capable of obtaining all by himself. Whatever that clown Marvus is playing at… I don’t appreciate the showmanship.”

He frowned. “Sergeant, I’ve done this before. Did I ever tell you about the coup attempt on Outer Colony 819?”

“No, Imperator Petrus.” The name didn’t even sound familiar.

“You wouldn’t have heard of it, Sergeant. It happened twenty sweeps ago. An indigo blood in command of a Fleet detachment got it into her thinkpan to take her command and take over a remote colony world. The colonists themselves were quite sympathetic to the idea of having their own small Empire out in the depths of space. I suppose she thought that we would overlook the transgression due to the remote nature of the colony.” He smiled — the same smile he’d had when Polypa first met him. The same expression that spoke of the utter absence of even a trace of happiness. “She was incorrect. The entire detachment was destroyed… and there is not longer an Outer Colony 819 — at least not in the sense of a populated or habitable world instead of a chunk of space-glass. You understand the meaning of this story?”

Polypa could feel the chill all over. “Yes, High Imperator.”

“Good. Now open a text communication with the two Legiscorpus agents who were responsible for investigating down below.” He held up the portable computer that he had in his own lap and nodded.

consumateprofessional111 opened a SECURE_COM with ferventnihilist and s_sezyat at 0402 AUT

Polypa

this is sergeant polypa goezee * please confirm rank and name *|

Stelsa

THIS IS INITIATE STELSA SEZYAT

Tyzias

this is neophyte tyzias entykk   
wwwwhat’s this about, anywwwway? i’mmmm kinda busy

Polypa

please stand by for official communication * i have high imperator petrus occsor here *|

Tyzias

oh holy shit!

consumateprofessional111 added ImperatorPetrus🅥 to the SECURE_COM

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Provide me with updates on your progress immediately.

Tyzias

high immmmperator — i’ve mmmmanaged to track dowwwwn a lead that could lead to additional informmmmation on the location and resources of the rebel forces that wwwwere responsible for the attack on the training commmmmmmmand and, possibly, the auctoritatis

Stelsa

I’M WORKING WITH SUBJUGGULATOR XOLOTO TO DETERMINE WHO MIGHT’VE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTACKS

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Very well. You will continue your investigations and report ALL findings back to your supervisor at the Legiscorpus, as well as to Sergeant Goezee.   
  
According to our intelligence, the weapon used against the Auctoritatis was very similar to that used on the Training Command. We are acting under the suspicion that it was the result of the same group of rebels.

Additionally, I believe that Mallek Adalov has little to no role in the actual attacks. I don’t care what the fucking clown says — I’m interested in finding who’s actually attacking the Empire and bringing them down. If he wants a trial, he’ll try the people who were responsible for this.   
  
Find Mallek if it helps you find the rest, but don’t let it become a distraction. And don’t let the fucking clown interfere with me.

I hope I do not have to explain the consequences to you two if you betray the confidence of anything I’ve told you.

Tyzias

no, high immmmperator

Stelsa

ABSOLUTELY NOT, HIGH IMPERATOR

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Good.

ImperatorPetrus🅥 left the SECURE_COM

Polypa

if you have any questions i’m your point of contact * the high imperator expects great things from you two *|

consumateprofessional111 closed the SECURE_COM

“Good job, Sergeant. Now, open one up to the supervisor for those two.”

“Yes, Imperator Petrus.” She quickly looked through the information on the computer to find the name of the Legiscorpus employee assigned to oversee them — a man named Tagora Gorjek. He was currently a brand-new Inquisitor in the Legislacerators.

nodded.

consumateprofessional111 opened a SECURE_COM with bettercallgorgor at 0410 AUT

Polypa

this is sergeant polypa goezee * please confirm rank and name *|

Tagora

What is this, SERGEANT? My name is Inquisitor Tagora Gorjek.   
I hope this is important… I’m quite busy. *_________

Polypa

great * please hold for High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Tagora

Oh holy shit *_________

consumateprofessional111 added ImperatorPetrus🅥 to the SECURE_COM

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Inquisitor Gorjek, I’m contacting you regarding two of your charges — Neophyte Entykk and Initiate Sezyat.

Tagora

High Imperator! Whatever they did, I’m sure I don’t know anything about it. In fact, I strongly and immediately condemn it and will be more than happy to do literally anything to make it right for whoever they wronged! *_________

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Shut up, Inquisitor.

They’ve done nothing wrong — I wish to inform you that they will be regularly reporting back to you regarding their investigation into the rebel attacks.   
  
Attacks which I have reason to believe are linked together.

Tagora

Of course, High Imperator! *_________

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

If you do not hear back from them, or you suspect they are withholding information… contact Sergeant Goezee here IMMEDIATELY.   
  
Is that clear?

Tagora

Of course, High Imperator!!!! *_________

High Imperator Petrus Occsor

Good.

ImperatorPetrus🅥 left the SECURE_COM

consumateprofessional111 closed the SECURE_COM

Imperator Petrus sighed and slipped the computer into a stow bag attached to the seat, securing it with a snap closure. He looked up at Polypa and his eyes looked like they would burrow right through her — Polya swallowed heavily.

“As for you, Sergeant Goezee…” he breathed in deeply and his eyes were stern… dangerous. “I trust you will keep me well-informed about what’s happening with all parties involved. Additionally, I expect regular updates on anything else that’s happening that you might become aware of. I trust you on this matter, and it is of the utmost importance. Is that perfectly clear?”

She nodded frantically. “Yes, Imperator Petrus.” But it hurt to say it — it hurt to acknowledge this man or what he represented. She wanted to send a message to Tegiri — to talk to at least one person who might have a chance of understanding how she felt. To let her moirail know how badly it hurt right now.

It hurt to face the fact that she was helping someone who had wiped out thousands… millions of lives for no other reason than the preservation of the Empire. And, as far as she could tell, he thought nothing of it. And most of all, it hurt to know that he would gladly do it again.


	21. An Acute Sense of Unease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter depicts consensual non-explicit sexual activity between two adult characters. If this content is distressing to you, please skip to the first line break.

the 5th night…

The Southern Caverns - 0823 local time (2323 AUT)

The sensation of waking up in the drift of the sopor was familiar to Lynera — she’d been sleeping in the recupercoon since she came to the jade caverns as a wiggler. It was a comforting sensation — the sense of weightlessness as she was buoyed up in the slime and it washed away her daily aches and pains. There was nothing whatsoever new about it…

Except that there was, this time. Because — and she only began to fully realize this as her consciousness truly came back and she began to remember what she’d been doing the night before — she wasn’t alone in the recupercoon.

She felt it before she even opened her eyes — the gentle weight of someone pressed up against her body. The soft feeling of bare skin against her bare skin. _Well, it would be silly to get in with your clothes on anyway. Washing the slime out would take forever!_

Except the clothes had come off well before she got in. Well before she was even ready to go to bed. She slowly opened her eyes only the smallest amount and shifted slightly to look. Maybe, if she was careful, she wouldn’t wake…

She was looking back into two eyes — quite lovely eyes with slightly hooded eyelids. Eyes that were very much aware of her. Eyes that belonged to Bronya Ursama.

“Good evening,” Bronya said softly. Lynera shut her eyes tightly.

_How long was she up? Was she watching me? Did she see me?_

“Shh… I’m still asleep,” Lynera muttered. “Dreaming.”

That’s what it was — a dream. An extended dream that had managed to somehow outdo even her own imagination. One that wasn’t ending, no matter how long it went on for.

“A nice dream, then?” Bronya asked — her voice was even and soft. “I’m glad.”

_This isn’t real! We didn’t do any of that!_ It still tingled a little bit, even after hours. _No, that’s not real either! I refuse to believe any of it!_

The Bronya leaning against her — the one who was surely a product of a particularly active imagination — shifted in closer and Lynera felt lips pressed to her forehead… her cheeks… and, softly, to her own lips. She blushed deeply and murmured something that wasn’t really _words_ so much as a general _idea_ of words.

Fingers brushed her damp hair back and played along her forehead, tracing a line down her cheek… back along her jaw… down her neck. She shivered.

“Oh… are you cold?” Bronya sounded… Lynera wasn’t sure if she was worried or being suggestive. Maybe both? Bronya seemed to have limited experience with the latter… which was probably just as well, because Lynera had none. “I can… help you with that if you want.”

She tried to stop the smile that was on her face — tried to stop the jade that was seeping into her cheeks. It was a battle she couldn’t possibly win. “No, it’s okay. I’m just… remembering.”

“Lynera… thank you for the pajamas.”

...and they’d been kissing again. Lynera was on top of her and she’d wanted nothing more in that moment. Any sense of discipline — of the idea of holding back how she felt even one second longer — had gone completely out the window as soon as she was in Bronya’s lap. She kept kissing Bronya, as if the next second they’d never be able to see each other again.

Completely consumed by a want… a _need_ that she’d pretended just didn’t exist. Which was fine, because Lynera _didn’t_ want to hurt Bronya — didn’t ever want to make her feel like she had to reciprocate or make her feel put off. But knowing that she shared that feeling… that had made it completely impossible to stop herself.

She pulled in her bottom lip and chewed on it lightly. Bronya pressed her head in against Lynera’s neck and sighed — she sounded happy. And Lynera realized something in that moment…

She felt happy.

All sense of propriety was thrown away in an instant. A pair of garments made from the same material — a subtle connection tossed to the floor in favor of a much more immediate, physical, intimate one. Lynera had pushed forward — hadn’t remembered anything feeling so _urgent_ before.

Maybe it was all in her head, but so was everything. Love and hatred and everything in-between were just chemical lies her brain told her. But so what? What did it matter when everything felt the way it did? What did it matter if she was living in a dream in that moment?

Another shiver ran through her body and Lynera drew in a sharp breath.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The concern was creeping more into Bronya’s voice. She was good — too good for this to be real. Lynera felt the tears dripping down her cheeks in spite of herself.

“Yes, just…” Lynera trailed off and sighed. “I spent a lot of time thinking about this, okay?”

Bronya made a soft noise — a noise of understanding. “And it’s not quite what you expected? I can—”

“No.”

Bronya stopped talking and Lynera took a breath. “It’s not that it’s not what I expected, it’s that it’s _exactly_ what I hoped for and it doesn’t feel completely real. Do you know what I mean?”

She felt a soft brush against her neck as Bronya nodded. “Yes… I do. Is there anything I can do to help with that?”

“I don’t know. Tell me this is real?”

“It’s real,” Bronya said quietly. “It is 1 — real, and 2 — happening.” A kiss on her neck. “Does that feel real to you?”

Lynera smiled and blushed. “Yes.”

“This doesn’t feel real.” Lynera muttered with her forehead pressed to Bronya’s — her hips pressed in close and her body bent over. “Tell me this is real.”

She felt a delicate set of fingers brush her somewhere sensitive… and she fought not to moan in response. At least some sense of decorum had to be preserved, right?

_Why am I even thinking about that? I’m so fucking nervous._

“This is real,” came the whispered response.

“Thank you,” she added quickly. “I’m sorry… I’ve never done this before. I mean… not before… you know!” She added the last part quickly, flushed jade, and immediately stopped talking.

“It’s fine.” Bronya said quietly. Lynera opened her eyes again and saw Bronya nestled against her, partially covered by the sopor. “1 — everyone has a first time and… 2 —...” Lynera couldn’t quite tell from the position she was in, but it seemed like Bronya was grinning and blushing in equal measure. “...we both enjoyed it so it doesn’t matter.”

“Mmm…” Lynera murmured, letting herself start to drift off again. Remembering…

_That really just happened!_

She wasn’t sure _when_ they’d ended up on the floor, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. In retrospect… it still seemed like a pretty good idea, actually. Lynera was panting slowly, the tingling feeling still working its way up and down her body.

Was this a good idea? Had it been an even remotely good decision? Her relationship to Bronya would never be what it was — would never go back to the way it had been before she’d knocked on her door that fateful day.

_I don’t want it to go back. I like this._

She sighed heavily and rolled over, facing a Bronya that was lying on the floor and panting as well.

“I love you,” she said plainly. There wasn’t anything else to it.

* * *

When Lynera came to again, Bronya wasn’t there. For a brief moment, she felt a surge of panic rising inside of her. Maybe it _had_ been some kind of dream after all. Or, even worse, maybe it hadn’t been and she’d angered Bronya somehow. Or made her upset. Or unhappy. Or… or… or…

“You’re up again!” Bronya said cheerily from nearby. Lynera hoisted herself out of the sopor and saw Bronya smiling at her. “I couldn’t get back to sleep — sorry.”

Lynera pulled herself up and out of the sopor, feeling the quick chill of the room as she was no longer enveloped in the slime. She walked to the ablution trap in the bathroom and turned the water on full blast. A few moments of standing in the steaming water rinsed off the last bits of sopor and had her feeling energized.

_That really happened…_

Where she went from there, she supposed, was entirely up to her. At least in part. There was nothing she could do — nothing she wanted to do — to control how Bronya acted. But she knew that she wanted to keep seeing her — wanted this to be more than a quick day together followed by pretending they’d never done anything differently at all.

Out of the ablution trap again, she toweled off and walked out into the main room. She still felt more than a little bit self-conscious about all of this, so Lynera kept the towel tuck around her waist. Bronya walked up, bent down, and kissed her full on the mouth again. Lynera closed her eyes and wished that the moment would never have to end.

Sadly, it did… but Bronya was still smiling.

“Okay, so… 1 — I folded your robe and… 2 — I still can’t believe you used the same fabric. I had no idea.” Bronya handed her the robe, which Lynera gratefully wrapped around herself.

“I should… I should probably get back to my chambers and get dressed. People will wonder if I’m walking around in just this.” She motioned at the robe and Bronya nodded.

“Of course! Here, I’ll get the door for you!” It was completely unnecessary, but Lynera found herself accepting the help without a second thought.

Standing on the other side of the door was a very annoyed looking Lanque Bombyx. As soon as he saw the two trolls and the state they were in, Lanque laughed so hard he almost doubled over.

“Oh, _I_ see how it is! I was looking for Lynera everywhere because she wasn’t in her chambers and I thought you two might be hashing things out for the morning tasks. Apparently… well… different kind of tasks.” He giggled and winked. “I’d ask if you have a minute, but you seem to be indisposed right now.”

Lynera blushed and shook her head. “It’s fine!” She turned back to Bronya. “I’ll see you soon… please take care of yourself.”

On the other side with the door securely closed behind her, Lynera finally fixed Lanque with a withering stare. “What the hell do you want, Lanque?!”

“I need to talk to you. Preferably now and preferably in private. Unless you’re…” Lanque gestured at the robe and Lynera frowned and cinched the opening tight. “...preoccupied.”

She narrowed her eyes and pulled her mouth down into a frown. “It’s fine. We can talk here - no one else is around.”

“Fine!” He rolled his eyes and glanced around quickly. “I know you and Daraya were talking before she decided to disappear. What did you two talk about?”

She sighed. “Nothing.” Lanque’s face showed no sign that he even remotely believed her, and she huffed quickly and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine! I told her she shouldn’t go and she told me I was just worried about…” She blushed. “...doing… stuff with Bronya.”

“Which you have now done, judging by what I just ran into.” He smirked at her. “Not that I’m judging you — you’ve got good taste.”

“Stop it!” Lynera could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and the tears welling up in her eyes. “Can you all please just stop! I don’t need this and I don’t want it! I just wanted for one thing to not be shit right now — for there to be one bright spot in this horrible place. Is that too much for all of you?! Because you can just run the fuck out whenever, right?!”

He let out a sigh that felt more genuine than she expected. “Fine. Yes, it’s fine to want something good. It’s fine to want to feel good and it’s fine…” he smirked again. “It’s fine if you want to fuck Bronya.”

“Stop it!” Lynera shouted it this time. “Just say whatever the fuck you want to say and leave me the fuck _alone!_ I’m tired of you sneering down at me for everything. Because I care about what we do here. Because I want to help Bronya out. Because I care about her and I’m not too aloof to turn my nose up at her. And you act like _I’m_ the problem and all I’m trying to do is help keep us together through this and you’re all so fucking _mean to me_ because of it!”

She was breathing heavily — fists clenched — angry. And Lanque shrugged. “I don’t honestly care.”

“ _Then why fucking ask me anything!_ ” She brought the clenched fists down on her thighs. “Why fucking bother and not just leave me alone?!”

“Because I need to know where Daraya went,” he said sharply. “She already did this and I _know_ she’s got some kind of pitch crush on you. She must’ve told you something.”

“Well… she didn’t!” Lynera snapped at Lanque and crossed her arms tightly again. “So if you want to go then I’m not gonna try to stop you or make things hard for you. I’ve got things to do around here and I don’t care about what you’re doing. Run the Everdim and see if you can find her. I don’t fucking _care!_ ” She blinked heavily, trying to stave off the tears.

“Oh, sure…” Lanque sneered at here. “I’m sure you’ve got _lots_ to d—”

“Shut the fuck up!” She turned away from him. “Go on. Abandon us. Leave us. I don’t fucking care because we’re better off without you here.”

When he spoke again, Lanque’s voice had evened out — he no longer sounded scornful or mocking… he sounded _tired._ “Fine. If you’re gonna be like this, fine. I’m leaving, you’re staying. I wasn’t trying to change your mind and you know you’re not gonna change mine. So…” He waved dismissively. “Run on and go get dressed. Save the show for Bronya.”

“Fuck you,” she said quickly — and walked off before he could say anything.

She got all the way back to her chambers and collapsed into the corner before she started sobbing. She wished she’d just stayed in the room with Bronya — or gone back to see her again.

_I don’t want her to see me like this._

She didn’t want to have to keep seeing the other jades walk away from the caverns. She wanted to keep them all together. They didn’t deserve to be fragmented and scattered — it would only end badly as things got worse and worse. Bronya recognized that better than any of them and she wanted to do something that would help. It was so much for one woman to bear…

Lynera pushed herself to her feet, sniffling heavily and wiping her face.

_Never mind! I’d rather not be alone right now!_

She walked back out into the hallway and down the hall, toward Bronya’s room.


	22. Pre-Show Jitters

the 5th night…

Imperial Theater, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1435 local time (0535 AUT) 

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 1435 AST (0525 AUT)

Skylla

YYou up and about?

Konyyl

Yeah it’s really not a good time right now   
Why’d you message me again?!

Skylla

I’m just… making sure yyou’re okayy.   
Am I not allowed to do that?

Konyyl

Okay, stop it   
Just admit you’re pale for me already   
SHIT

Skylla

No! I’m just worried!   
Yyou’re the onlyy person I reallyy know that’s still on-planet!

Konyyl

You know I told Azdaja about you

Skylla

Wait what?!   
Whyy would yyou

Konyyl

He said you’re pale for me   
Like obviously definitely   
Which maybe is okay

Skylla

No no no! I told yyou I’m just worried.   
I’m just checking on yyou!

Konyyl

Uh huh.   
You’re kinda cute, actually   
In a kinda silly way   
So…   
Whatever you say

Skylla

Exactlyy!   
Yyou get it.

Konyyl

Anyway I might not be on-planet for long   
Gonna be shipping up to the Iustitia   
Guess they want additional security

Skylla

Well… be careful.   
Yyou know… please.

Konyyl

Right   
Just as a completely non-moirail thing, right?

Skylla

Right. Exactlyy.

Konyyl

Take care of yourself, Skylla   
In a completely non-moirail way, of course

Skylla set down the palmhusk and looked at the mirror in her dressing room. She couldn’t believe that she was back in another Imperial Theater after what had just happened. The attack on the High Court ship was almost unthinkable, and the idea that they were just going to keep going with this ridiculous, farcical tour was just as much so.

But Marvus had insisted, so she’d gone along with it. Now she was back in another high blood dressing room with a lot of empty space for her thoughts.

_I shouldn’t even be here._ Which, she supposed, was true enough — there was no reason why she was special in any way. She was just a recruit in the Army — a nothing nobody. Well, she supposed she was technically a Specialist now. That was something…

_No, like, I shouldn’t even be alive._ Skylla sighed and stared into the mirror. By all rights, she should’ve been disintegrated along with everyone else in the barracks. But she’d lived because she couldn’t sleep — because she couldn’t let the idea of losing Ladyy just sit with her like she was supposed to. Because she was still kind of a wiggler about it — crying and feeling awful and all that.

She had no idea how she’d ever seen the Army as anything other than what it was — a protein-grinder that turned soldiers into fuel for the Empire’s conquests. Once upon a time, she’d wanted to join… had wanted to be able to go on adventures and have exploits and get out of it with stories she’d be able to tell. Except that there weren’t adventures to be had and no one ever really got out. Instead, you just kept smashing your head against the same wall until finally you couldn’t do it anymore. Then you were dead and that was it.

Skylla sniffled to herself and wiped her eyes quickly, staring back into the mirror. Wherever Ladyy was, she hoped it was better than here.

_I hope the rebels wipe it all away._ It was a thought that she simply wasn’t allowed to have. She would never say it… would never say anything. _But I hope it all burns to the ground._ They deserved that more than anything. The new Empress who pretended that everyone loved her while she ordered her violet blood monster to burn whole cities in her name.

The knock on the dressing room door startled her.

“Come in.”

In the mirror, she could see Marvus walking in, already dressed up for the day. As far as Skylla could tell, he was _always_ dressed up. She’d never seen him without one of his distinctive purple suits and cane… although he wasn’t wearing the top-hat right now, so that gave the whole thing a marginally more casual appearance.

“Hey, girl — just comin in to check up on you for tonight. Gonna be a big one for sure after what happened.” He leaned up against the wall near the dressing table. “How you feelin?”

Skylla nodded. “I’m fine, Mr. Xoloto.”

“Nah, girl, you go on and call me Marvus. We’re fellow performers and all that now.” He winked and pointed at her. “No need to get all formal.”

“Sir— Marvus — are we going to be doing any differently today?” Skylla could hear how nervous she sounded even as she tried to keep her voice even.

He shrugged. “Nah. We’re gonna keep to things as usual. Why?”

“Well… I just thought because of what happened tonight… with the ship?”

Marvus nodded, and there was a deeply thoughtful look on his face. “Yeah, girl, I can see why you’d think that. After all, my righteous brothers, sisters, and assorted others got snuffed out in a wink. Motherfuckin tragedy and all that. By all rights I should be murderkillin my way through some lowbloods out of anger or somethin, right?”

She didn’t answer, and Marvus nodded.

“Girl, I know the shit folks say. Ain’t no one more keenly aware of our place than us. Maybe some embrace it and some get to enjoy it in a true way but… me…” His voice dropped and he leaned forward, throwing his face into shadow. “I’m all about the show. We find this Mallek dude and we bring him up there and make sure everyone can see what happens to the people who’d do this to her Imperious etcetera etcetera.” He tapped the cane on the ground to accentuate what he was saying.

“I’m just not sure what I should say out there today,” Skylla said hesitantly. “I know the story and all that, but it doesn’t feel real to me. I mean… I didn’t live through that. It didn’t happen. I was just out to use the gaper and then I was on my ass.”

“And that’s what those two pretty little teals from the Legiscorpus told me too, girl. It’s not about the truth of things, you know what I mean?” He stopped and studied Skylla’s face, then sighed. “Girl, it’s easy — sometimes the truth is boring, so we just kind of spice it up a lil bit. Just give it an extra kick while keepin the basic flavor.”

She nodded. “I understand.” She didn’t really understand — it didn’t make any sense to her.

“Nah… you don’t quite get it,” Marvus said quietly. Skylla could suddenly feel her gut clenching up. “That’s okay, girl. You don’t have to _get_ it to play your part. You get up there on stage and you tell those folks what you went through. Least what we said you went through. It’ll all make sense when it makes sense.” He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. “You get it, girl?”

She nodded silently and Marvus gave her a quick smile. “Well, girl, I gotta be off then to finish gettin ready for today.”

As soon as he was gone, Skylla bent over the dressing table and began to sob. She couldn’t keep doing this — couldn’t keep getting up and pretending to have witnessed something that she didn’t. Couldn’t keep acting like she was okay with any of this. Couldn’t keep acting like she wasn’t constantly torn up inside over everything that she’d been forced to endure since the recruitment drone had showed up for her and Ladyy.

Bleary-eyed, she grabbed at the Palmhusk.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 1447 AST (0547 AUT)

Skylla

Heyy…

Konyyl

Hey there, not-moirail   
You okay?   
In a strictly not-pale way, of course

Skylla

So if yyou were to be myy moirail…   
Just in theoryy…   
And mayybe I was having a lot of trouble with what the Empire wants me to do right now…   
What would yyou tell me?

Konyyl

Uh… I guess I’d ask what’s the problem?   
Kinda hard to give you advice based on nothing

Skylla

This doesn’t leave this message.

Konyyl

Oh of course   
I would never betray my not-moirail’s secrets to anyone

Skylla

Thanks. See, yyou know I’m not a fucking Specialist. All that shit theyy had me sayying up on stage is a bunch of lies.   
  
I onlyy survived the bombing because I went out to talk to yyou and cryy about Ladyy.

Konyyl

Wait, REALLY?!   
Are you serious right now?   
You never told me

Skylla

YYes. It never came up. It happened right when I went out to talk to yyou.   
I guess yyou could sayy yyou saved myy life.

Konyyl

No   
Fucking NO   
We’re not doing this anymore

Skylla

What?

Konyyl

The whole thing about you and me   
You pretend you’re not pale for me and I pretend right back   
You fucking message me every chance you get and now you’re saying I saved your fucking LIFE   
Just fucking stop it already

Either we’re fucking moirails or we’re not   
And if we’re not then stop doing this, OKAY?!   
I can’t keep doing this   
You can’t keep doing this   
This isn’t healthy and even I can see it!

Skylla

Oh… okayy…

Skylla

Yyou’re serious?

Konyyl

I’m always fucking serious   
You wanna do this thing then sure what the fuck?   
But stop acting like we’re not or whatever   
I’m not playing this game anymore

Skylla

Okayy…   
Okayy.   
Moirails?

Konyyl

Sure what the fuck   
Was that so hard?

Now you mind running that all by me one more fucking time?!   
What’s going on with you?

Skylla

I onlyy survived the attack because I was talking to yyou. I don’t think I should’ve survived it at all. I miss myy lusus and I don’t wanna keep going on like this.   
But I don’t know anyy other wayy. So I’m asking for some fucking help.   
As yyour moirail…

Konyyl

I wish I could say it gets easier at some point   
Truth is I got no fucking CLUE   
I’m only a couple perigees ahead of you   
I’m not fucking ready for whatever comes next

Skylla

I’m just a fucking liar who’s pretending to know what the fuck I’m talking about.

Konyyl

We’re all liars, Skylla   
Each and every fucking one of us   
Liars until we’re not

Skylla

I don’t want to be alive anyymore. Not if it’s gonna be like this all the time.

Konyyl

Do I need to tell you not to fucking do anything stupid?

Skylla

I’m just thinking out loud. I’m not going to do anyything. I’m just pissed off and sad all the time. I can’t stop thinking about Ladyy and what theyy did to her. YYou know?

Konyyl

Yeah   
My lusus… I miss her too   
Wolverinemom… I never gave her a fancy name like you did   
I still remember how it felt to watch as the recruiting drones…   
You know what I mean

Skylla

YYeah…   
I’m sorryy, Konyyyyl.

Konyyl

Me too   
I’m sorry for you   
For me   
For everyone, I guess

Can I tell you something else?   
Something that never leaves this message?   
Moirail to moirail, since we’re finally being fucking HONEST?

Skylla

Sure

Konyyl

I don’t want to fucking do this anymore   
It was different with Azdaja and me   
It felt like a goddamn GAME   
Not anymore — now it feels like I’m part of something fucked up   
I don’t want to do this anymore

I want to go back to how things were   
More than anything   
And I fucking CAN’T

Skylla

YYeah… me too, Konyyyyl.   
I’m so sorryy.

Konyyl

Not your fault   
  
Look, I gotta go form up for some bullshit   
Take care of yourself, okay?   
Moirail

Skylla

Yyou too…   
Moirail.


	23. Trace-back Protocol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter has some somewhat graphic depictions of violence and character death.

the 5th night…

Bronze District, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1553 local time (0653 AUT)

It took a couple hours for Tyzias to check the list of places that Chixie Roixmr might show up, and they’d been universally empty. If there were any folks sympathetic to the rebellion, they surely would’ve run as soon as the Auctoritatis went down. Anyone with any degree of sense would know that such a severe attack would result in an immediate response from the Alternian Empire. They were right, of course, but maybe didn’t fully understand just how serious the situation was. They hadn’t had the opportunity to see the High Imperator up close, after all.

At the tail end of a list of clubs, bars, and other assorted dives was a home address — a respiteblock in an unassuming part of the Bronze District. The hives in this part of town were packed in close — trying to maximize the amount of livable space for a given area. At this time of night, the city was full of people heading to a million different destinations, and Tyzias was able to walk around basically unnoticed once she’d taken care to cover up anything that hinted at her status as a teal blood or a member of the Legiscorpus.

The building that Chixie’s respiteblock was in was a low, squat place that looked like it’d been sitting there for a while. But as soon as Tyzias crossed into the foyer, she could see that it had been well-maintained.

_Not a bad setup, honestly._

She missed being back on Alternia. Missed the respiteblock that she and Stelsa had shared before they had to go offworld. And while she was glad to be able to share quarters with her matesprit, it still wasn’t the same. Tyzias sighed.

ferventnihilist began chatting with s_sezyat at 1558 AST (0658 AUT)

Tyzias

hey, beautiful, howwww’s your end of things going?

Stelsa

WE’RE AT THE IMPERIAL THEATER NOW   
NOT SURE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THOUGH… MR. XOLOTO JUST TOLD ME I’D BE HELPING WITH SECURITY FOR THE EVENT TODAY

WHICH I EXPLAINED I’M COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED FOR BUT HE INSISTED I’D BE FINE   
ZIZI, THIS IS ALL SO MUCH!

Tyzias

i knowwww, stels… i knowwww   
i’ve got a couple mmmmore loose ends to check in on here and then i’ll head back

Stelsa

SO NO LUCK FINDING OUR RUNAWAY FLYING SINGBEAST, I ASSUME?

Tyzias

not a peep   
(sorry, i couldn’t resist)

Stelsa

PLEASE BE CAREFUL ZIZI   
THIS ALL FEELS SO WRONG

Tyzias

i knowwww, stels   
don’t wwwworry, i’ll be careful   
i love you

Stelsa

...

I LOVE YOU TOO

Tyzias made her way up the stairs in the back of the hive, up to the second floor where Chixie’s respiteblock was. Down a hallway, around a corner, and finally to the respiteblock in the corner. Tyzias knocked on the door heavily and waited.

“Chixie Roixmr? It’s Neophyte Entykk — can you please open up? I promise I just want to talk to you.”

No answer. Tyzias gave it another five minutes and two more heavy knocks.

_Guess I’m going in the hard way._ She steeled herself to try to break down the door — it looked pretty heavy. A second before she was ready to bash a shoulder into it, a thought occurred…

Tyzias reached down and turned the handle — and the door swung open quietly.

_Oh. Yeah._

Her hand went instinctively down to the pistol she’d been issued — it was concealed in a holster in the back of her waistband. No sense in freaking anyone out, but she was technically out on Legiscorpus business and some folks didn’t respond especially kindly to that. The respiteblock was dim inside, the only light coming from the kitchen off to the side.

“Chixie?! Chixie Roixmr?! I’m coming inside!” Tyzias shouted into the respiteblock before taking a step over the threshold.

A strange feeling washed over her as she walked in — a kind of shivering that ran up her back. She’d never done anything like this before, and training in the investigation division didn’t really emphasize breaking into respiteblocks with a gun. It didn’t seem like anyone was home though — a quick check of the kitchen and the rooms in the back turned up no sign that anyone had been there for a couple cycles. Not surprising — it didn’t make a lot of sense to come back home when you might be hunted down by Legiscorpus for it.

Tyzias heard a scuttling noise somewhere to her left, over by the windows — her hand went for the gun and she was about to draw it on whatever unknown threat was lurking in the respiteblock when she heard a small _squeak._ Her hand eased off the gun.

Standing on the windowsill was a tiny white ground squirrel — it didn’t take much deduction to figure out that this was Chixie’s lusus.

“Hey there,” Tyzias said in her most calming voice. “What’re you doing here? You got left here all by yourself, huh?” The lusus cocked its head and squeaked again before dashing off to the corner. “It’s okay… I’m not with the recruitment drive… I’m not gonna hurt you.”

A sudden stab of remembering hit Tyzias and she frowned. A memory of a small fox with giant ears who’d always made her laugh. Once upon a time in the past. “No… not going to hurt you at all.” She put her hands up to make it clear that she didn’t mean any harm and the squirrel seemed to relax a little bit.

With the lusus mollified, Tyzias began to look around the respiteblock. It wasn’t especially large — a living room with a small kitchen, then a respite chamber in the back and a small bathroom with an ablution block and load gaper and basically nothing else. There were a number of instruments lined up in the living room — Tyzias figured that made sense. Not really anything worth making a particular note of.

She walked back to the respite chamber and began poking around. There was a desk there covered in papers — it looked like it was mostly song lyrics and scribbled out musical notation. Tyzias didn’t recognize most of it, although she did catch a glimpse of the lyrics for the song that Chixie had sung a few cycles ago. A hell of a gutsy move to do that — she was lucky she wasn’t culled on the spot.

“What the fuck?!” The voice from the front of the respiteblock was unmistakable — Chixie was here.

_Fuck I forgot to close the door._ Quickly scanning the respite chamber, Tyzias found a space behind a dresser to tuck herself into the corner.

Another voice from the front — “Stay behind me…”

“Why the _fuck_ do you have a gun?” Chixie again — she sounded terrified.

From the living room, Chixie’s squirrel lusus began to chirp excitedly.

_Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck._ Tyzias reached back and pulled the pistol from its holster, clicking the safety off and holding it up in front of her. It’d been perigees since she shot one for training, and she’d never had to actually shoot _at_ anyone.

“I said to stay behind me.” The voice was getting closer — Tyzias was struggling to remember if she’d heard it somewhere but was drawing a blank. “Someone’s been in here.”

“Squirrelmom’s saying that someone’s still here!” Chixie’s voice was wavering. “There’s someone in here!”

Their footsteps were getting closer to the respite chamber, and the dresser that Tyzias was hiding behind seemed painfully inadequate. It certainly wouldn’t stop a bullet. She held her breath… and waited.

The first troll walked through the door holding a pistol up — some long-haired troll with a floppy, olive-colored hat.

_Now or never._

Slowly, Tyzias stood up and aimed her pistol at the newcomer. She did her best to sound authoritative — “Legiscorpus! Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

The troll froze in place and slowly turned their head to look. The first thing they’d see would be the gaping barrel of Tyzias’ service pistol.

“Drop the gun! I will shoot you!” Tyzias was trying to keep the shake out of her voice but it wasn’t working. _I can’t fucking do this!_

“No! Drop your gun!” The strange shifted and now Tyzias was staring down the barrel of their gun too. _Fuck!_

From around the corner, a shaking Chixie appeared — she walked unsteadily into the room and looked back and forth between Tyzias and this new troll, her eyes wide.

Tyzias shook her head. “Look, I’m just here to talk to Chixie. I swear I’m not gonna do anything stupid — I just want to talk!”

“That’s what you people _always_ say! You think we’re stupid? You think we’ll fall for that?!”

Chixie walked closer to the troll. “Charun, please… please don’t do this.”

Charun — that was their name, apparently — frowned. “Chixie, you need to step back in case this monster decides to shoot. Your friend already said he’d be here, right?” Chixie nodded at them quickly. “Okay, then we just need to hold her off until he can get here.”

“I don’t want to do this!” Tyzias snarled. “I’m not interested in hurting anyone!”

Charun sneered. “Then put the gun down! You say you want to talk to Chixie — you won’t need it.”

_Fuck!_

What did it matter, anyway?

_You promised her you’d be safe._ Not that holding a gun to some stranger was doing a very good job of keeping that promise.

“Fuck!” Tyzias yelled… and then she slowly bent over and set her pistol on the ground. “There, are you happy?”

“Come out from there — without the gun.”

Tyzias nodded quickly and stepped forward, walking toward Charun with her hands up in the air. When she got closer to them, they suddenly raised the gun and frowned. “That’s close enough! You say you want to talk to Chixie… talk to Chixie. You’ve got about ten minutes until her friend gets here!”

Tyziad frowned. “Friend? Snakbytes?”

She saw Chixie’s eyes grow wide. “Where did you hear that name?!”

“Your asshole ex-matesprit told me,” Tyzias said frankly. “He didn’t know anything besides the name.”

Chixie’s face fell. “Oh… he’s alive, I guess.”

“Sure,” Tyzias said with a shrug, “but he’s in a pretty bad way. You did a real job on him.”

“Nothing worse than what he’s done to me,” Chixie muttered softly. Tyzias didn’t ask more about it — she didn’t want to pry. Chixie walked to the desk and sat down heavily.

“Okay, so you’ve got me at gunpoint and I’m not armed,” Tyzias said. “Can I at least ask you a couple questions? I promise I’m not here to haul you back or bring you in front of a fucking Legislacerator. I’m pretty sure they super don’t give a shit, especially after what happened earlier. Technically I’m not even supposed to be looking for you.”

Chixie frowned. “Then why do it? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Because I think there’s something important that I’m missing here… and I don’t like being kept in the dark!” Tyzias glared at her. “I don’t like being held at gunpoint either.”

She shrugged. “You broke into my respiteblock — I’d say it was a fair enough trade.”

_Okay, that’s a fair point._

“Look,” Tyzias said slowly, “why don’t you tell me who snakeBytes is. I’m not bringing the info back to anyone. I’m supposed to be looking into rebels but I think there’s a lot we’re not being told.”

Chixie narrowed her eyes and stared for a minute — finally, she nodded. “I don’t want to talk to you about that.” She looked… off when she said it.

Tyzias had a theory. “It’s Mallek Adalov, isn’t it?” Chixie didn’t respond, but the face she made said everything that she possibly could. “He’s coming _here?!_ ” Another no-response, but the same face.

“Shut the fuck up!” Charun yelled, lifting the pistol higher. “I’ll blow your head off!”

Tyzias sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t believe the stuff they said about him anyway. It’s not even the original story… there was a bombing and none of that shit about the attack happened.” She could be culled for saying any of this, but what did it matter when the audience was a runaway singer and a random olive blood who felt completely comfortable holding a Legiscorpus Neophyte at gunpoint.

“I know that,” Chixie muttered. “I was there with Mallek right after it happened… he had satellite pictures or something. But he didn’t know who did it!”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Tyzias said quietly.

Chixie was talking now — and it didn’t seem like she was going to stop. “He said he had a place he could take me that’d be safer. That’s all I know.”

“Stop talking to her!” Charun said sharply — they still hadn’t dropped the gun an inch. “She’s fucking Legiscorpus! She’s a goddamn teal blood!”

From the front of the respiteblock, there was a loud knock — and a voice called out from the front. “Chixie?! You in here?!”

_That has to be Mallek._ Footsteps sounded down the hallway and Chixie turned with a bright smile to call into the hallway.

“Mallek! You came!” She sounded genuinely happy.

“I told you to call me snakeBytes, fucking—” Mallek’s face appeared in the doorway and he immediately froze. “What the fuck?! Is that a goddamn Legislacerator?!”

“She was in here poking around,” Charun said without looking away from Tyzias.

Tyzias cleared her throat. “I was looking for Chixie! I’d like to remind everyone in here contemplating my death that I’m not even supposed to be here!”

“Then why are you here, Legis?!” Mallek squinted at her. “Don’t they keep your kind on a short leash?”

She narrowed her eyes and glared. _Wait a minute…_

_He’s got a point…_

_This feels… wrong…_

“No—” Tyzias’ mind barely managed to connect the dots when the far wall exploded into a hail of shrapnel.

Tyzias was down on the floor, her head throbbing and something jabbing into her side. Charun stumbled back and hit the ground hard, nearly dropping the pistol, while Chixie ducked under the desk. Mallek stood frozen in place, staring at the drone that was hovering just outside the newly-blasted hole.

“MALLEK ADALOV — YOU ARE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE ARREST”

“KNEEL WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD OR FACE IMMEDIATE CULLING”

Tyzias tried to struggle to her feet, but it felt like her head was swimming when she tried to push herself up. She could see Charun leaning forward… standing up again…

Aiming the pistol at the drone.

Two shots rang out, striking the drone near the head.

“No!” It was all Tyzias could manage. _Stop fucking shooting at it!_

The response was instantaneous — the drone quickly swiveled and pointed an arm at Charun. There was a quick, blaring roar as the anti-personnel gun mounted in the arm lit up. A dozen rounds struck Charun all at once in the abdomen, turning their lower torso into a churn of olive-green blood and shredded, hanging flesh in a second. Charun fell back onto the ground, the pistol dropped uselessly at their side.

“MALLEK ADALOV — THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING”

“SUBMIT TO ARREST OR FACE IMMEDIATE CULLING”

Without another word, Mallek knelt down on the ground and put his hands above his head. Tyzias let her head fall down on the ground — she could barely see as the drone approached Mallek with its restraint system opened. It latched onto Mallek, securing him for immediate transport.

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION”

“THANK YOU NEOPHYTE ENTYKK FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE EMPIRE”

“GLORY TO HER IMPASSIONED IMPERIOUS MAJESTY!”

Tyzias couldn’t tell, exactly, but it looked like Mallek was fixing her with an accusatory stare. It was the last thing that she saw from him before the drone lifted off and flew back through the hole it had blasted in the wall.

She was struggling not to pass out. Somewhere off in the distance of consciousness, Chixie was screaming.

The world went all fuzzy…

...then the world went away.

* * *

When Tyzias came to again, she was propped up against the wall by the door to the respite chamber. The door frame was chewed up from the drone’s initial blast. Everything ached, but she did seem to be alive and nothing seemed to be permanently damaged.

She didn’t think she could say the same for Charun. They were lying where they’d fallen in a large pool of olive blood. The squirrel lusus was pacing back and forth, making a plaintive mewling noise. Nearby, Tyzias could hear Chixie sobbing.

_What the fuck…_ She tried to sit up, but her head was swimming. She groaned softly.

The sobbing stopped… and a moment later she was staring down the angriest looking bronze blood she’d ever seen. Chixie growled at her.

“You’re awake. I should’ve fucking shot you while you were out. It’s what you deserve.” She trembled as she spoke.

Tyzias groaned again. “I didn’t do this… I didn’t know…” _They must’ve been tracking me. Oh my god… I did this… I’m the one who did this!_

Chixie grit her teeth and snarled. “Don’t talk to me…”

“I’m telling you… I came here on my own. The drone must’ve—” she was cut off as Chixie reached out and slapped her hard across the face. Tyzias felt her head snap over and get all fuzzy again.

“Fuck you! That person there—” she gestured to the olive blood’s body — “I only knew them for less than a cycle and I can say they were a better person than you’ll ever be!”

Tyzias blinked and tried to sit up again. “We need to go… they’re not looking for you, but now they know you’re here. Things might be changing faster than I can predict… I’m just a fucking Neophyte… I don’t know what’s going on.”

“What the fuck would you know about anything other than hurting people? Fucking Legiscorpus…” Chixie was starting to cry again.

“I have a matesprit…” Tyzias closed her eyes and tried to will that stuffed feeling out of her mind. “I was just trying to get through this and figure out what the fuck is really going on here… please… I don’t know what else to do.”

“You want to know what to do?!” She was shouting — “Then help me out! When I messaged him to come here, Mallek said he knew about a place called the Hidden City… he said I’d be safe there! You need to help me get to the Hidden City and you need to do it right the fuck now!”

The name didn’t ring a bell, exactly… but something vague down in Tyzias’ memory. Something she’d seen once back in her youth. Back when she’d toyed with the idea that maybe the system they all toiled under didn’t _have_ to be the way it was. If only she could _think_ properly, maybe she could figure it out.

“Look… I need…” She took a deep breath and fought back the urge to vomit. The smell of blood that was filling the respite chamber wasn’t helping with that. “I need to rest a minute or I’m not taking you anywhere.”

“No!” Chixie yelled at her. “You don’t get a minute! You get me the fuck out of here!” She made a little clicking noise with her tongue and the squirrel lusus rushed over to climb up onto her shoulders. “We’re leaving, and we’re leaving right the fuck now.”

“Fine…” Tyzias struggled to push herself up — it was unsteady going to get to her feet, and being up that high wasn’t doing her stomach any favors. It felt like she’d taken a pretty solid hit to the gut when the drone blew up the wall. “Fine… get me to somewhere I can catch my breath and I might be able to help you out.”


	24. A Polite Mask

the 5th night…

The Hidden City, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1641 local time (0741 AUT)

It had been a long night already, but Daraya wasn’t feeling especially like sleeping yet. She’d been keyed up ever since she got a message from Lanque that morning.

THELanqueBombyx began chatting with waywardspirit at 0935 AST (0035 AUT)

Lanque

So I’m leaVing the fucking caVerns.   
You had the right idea.

Daraya

▼▼ What the fuck?! Why?! ▼▼

Lanque

Because mind your goddamn business. No one asked you Why you left.   
Well, I didn’t anyWay. And I’m not noW. I think Bronya’s probably pretty upset.   
Lynera too. You knoW she’s really pitch for you, right? Just FYI.

Daraya

▲▲▲ Wait, really?! I mean… oh, yeah? ▼▼▼

Lanque

You go back you might still be able to make something out of it. Although I Would much more appreciate you tell me Where the fuck you’re at.

Daraya

▼ Ugh… fine. ▼   
▲ But only if you promise to come right here and not fuck around. ▲

She’d sent him the directions… and then waited.

And then the world had exploded again. Mallek had managed to set up a feed for incoming transmissions in the library, and Daraya had been hanging out in there when they learned about the bombing on the Auctoritatis. And something about the way Galekh had responded made it obvious that he knew _exactly_ what was going on.

She’d asked him, but he spent his time evading the question and talking to Mallek about something that seemed unrelated. Frustrated, Daraya had spent her time wandering around the Hidden City, poking into various bits of the ruins and checking out what everyone was doing there.

It was a fascinating place — everything was functional, but often hidden behind the semblance of ruin so that it would look completely mundane to an outside observer. Daraya was reminded of her time spent poking around various abandoned places back when she was still living in the caverns.

Later in the night, Mallek had suddenly left in a flurry of activity. Daraya tried to press him for more information, and he just ignored her and headed out through a side entrance that led up to some service tunnel or other. He was gone, and Daraya was left hanging around with a bunch of people she wasn’t really friends with.

Cirava was okay, but they were in the library hanging out by Mallek’s scanner. And they were the only one that Daraya really knew in any substantial way.

Daraya didn’t want to hang out in the library, so she spent her time walking around in the plaza, hopping up on the steps and jumping back down. Running around the light-posts and investigating the intriguing underground flora, which included a fungus that glowed faintly blue in the dark.

An hour into this, she noticed that Elwurd was sitting there on the ground by a set of steps watching her.

“Can I help you?” Daraya asked with enough of a sneer that Eldwurd would know that she wasn’t really interested in company.

Elwurd shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on what you’re looking for, exactly.”

Daraya jumped down from the low wall she was perched on and sat down next to Elwurd. “Not sure. I’m just bored and I don’t wanna hang out with Cirava. They’re doing the scanner thing while Mallek’s out. I don’t care about that, so I’m just fucking around.”

“Sure, I get it.” She leaned back on her hands and stretched her neck. “I don’t like to be bored much either, and right now it’s just a long game of hurry-up-and-fucking-wait.”

Daraya laughed — she looked over and saw Elwurd smiling at her. “Okay, yeah, fuck it — you’re right about that. I guess I figured when I ran away from the caverns things would be _less_ boring… and less underground.”

“Well… I can’t do much about the underground part, but I _can_ help with the boredom part if you’re interested.” Elwurd winked at her and Daraya felt her face getting hot.

“What… are you… what do you mean by that?!” She stammered out the question to a very smug-looking Elwurd. An Elwurd who slid herself a little bit closer to where Daraya was sitting next to her.

“You know… whatever you feel like, honestly. I’m bored too and… let’s just say I’ve got a thing for jades.” She winked. “You tend to be detail-oriented on account of your training… makes you good at a lot of things.”

Daray blushed. “You were with Bronya, weren’t you?”

She shrugged and looked up toward the roof of the cavern that the plaza sat inside. “Yeah, for a bit. It didn’t work out super well.”

“Why not?” Daraya watched carefully as Elwurd frowned, then quickly recovered and rolled her eyes.

“Because she was a stuck-up jerk who doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it.” Elwurd frowned again, and it stayed for longer.

“She dumped you?” Daraya asked, quietly. “It’s all over your face.”

“Fuck…” Elwurd muttered. “Fucking jades know how to read people like a damn book. Okay, yes, she told me that she didn’t want to be with someone as _emotionally unavailable_ as me and called it quits.” The look on her face was hard to read — it looked like she was trying very hard not to be hurt. “So I took her stupid favorite sweater and… fuck… she can borrow one of Lynera’s or something. She was so red for Bronya it hurt to see. Fuck!”

Daraya leaned forward, clutching her knees to her chest. “I don’t know… I can’t believe I’m saying this but… Bronya’s not so bad. She’s stuffy as hell but she does want what’s best for everyone. Maybe you weren’t… maybe you just weren’t her type?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She didn’t sound angry… in fact, she sounded almost _intrigued._

“Well… I’ve only seen you around places but… it seems maybe like you’re looking for something a little bit more _temporary_ than Bronya probably was.” Daraya shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that. Just… not the same end goal, y’know?”

Elwurd’s face brightened and she leaned back and laughed. “Oh shit, you’re right! Yeah… I’m being a fucking idiot about this, aren’t I? She was never the kind of person to be okay with keeping things casual… had to have all her quadrants sorted in a nice, neat line.” She kept laughing, closing her eyes and smiling to herself.

“Are you okay?” Daraya squinted at her — this seemed like such an abrupt change of pace from her previous attitude.

Elwurd nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I just tend to get… I guess I get a little caught up sometimes. That’s probably not healthy, huh?”

“Probably not,” Daraya said. _Yeah you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?_

They sat in silence for a while — Elwurd looking out toward the stairs that led back out of the plaza and Daraya looking at Elwurd’s face. Finally, after some time had passed, Elwurd turned and looked directly at Daraya. She flushed green.

“You want to kiss me?” Elwurd asked.

Daraya’s mouth hung open — stunned. “What?”

Elwurd shrugged. “You heard me. I asked if you wanted to kiss me. If you’re okay with it, of course.”

“Why?!” She was struggling _very_ hard not to betray just how that made her feel.

“Because we’re bored and it feels good. This isn’t a quadrant thing… just for fun.” She shrugged again. “If you don’t want to, no big deal — we can pretend I never even asked.”

A long pause crept in, and Elwurd finally turned away, still smiling at little bit. Daraya couldn’t help watching her as she turned — she could see the physical appeal, and unlike Bronya she wasn’t looking for a red relationship.

“Yes.”

Elwurd turned back. “What?”

“Yes, I want to kiss you,” Daraya said quickly. “Now or I’m gonna change my mind about this being a good idea!”

“Okay.” Elwurd slid over, closing the distance between them and bumping up against Daraya’s hips. She reached a hand out and ran it along Daraya’s shoulder… neck… jaw… it was a lot more tender than Daraya was expecting from _do you want to kiss me?_

She closed her eyes and let that hand guide her. She’d kissed plenty before, but it still came as something of a shock when Elwurd lips brushed her own… and she found herself pushing forward more than a little bit.

_Okay this feels kinda like a quadrant thing. God damn it!_

She pulled back slowly and opened her eyes to find herself staring into Elwurd’s long-lashed, heavily-lidded eyes. Elwurd’s hand was still gently cradling her jawline. She realized that, in that moment, she might have a little bit of a red crush on this woman.

“See? Nice and simple,” Elwurd said quietly. “Just for fun.” The thumb of her hand brushed Daraya’s lips lightly. “Just passing the time.”

“Uh… huh…” Daraya stared into those eyes and her blood pusher kept deciding to speed up for no good reason. “Can we do that again?”

Elwurd shrugged. “Sure. Seems like fun.”

* * *

It was probably only another ten minutes, but it felt like a pleasant forever. Daraya was in the middle of a kiss that involved practically draping herself over Elwurd when she heard someone clearing their throat.

“Well, I guess I missed out on my chance, huh?” She recognized Lanque’s voice instantly and her eyes shot open as she stumbled back and landed on her ass next to Elwurd. Lanque was looking down at them with an expression that was a mixture of bemusement and approval. “I mean, don’t stop on my account but maybe you want to find somewhere more private?”

Daraya chewed on her bottom lip and stridently avoided Lanque’s gaze. “We were just… ah… you know…”

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh yeah, I know. Probably about to fuck each other in public. I didn’t think you were into that, Daraya. Also… hello, Elwurd.”

Elwurd nodded. “Hello yourself.”

“You two know each other?” Daraya asked. Lanque shrugged.

“Sure. She sold me… some stuff a couple times. Not gonna lie and try to claim I wasn’t interested in a bit more than a business transaction but… you know… she’s particular about what sort she likes.”

Elwurd laughed. “That’s an interesting way of putting it.”

“So are you two gonna tell me what the fuck I’m doing here or are you planning to keep sitting here exploring each other’s nooks or whatever?” Lanque smiled as if he’d made a particularly good joke.

“Fine!” Daraya pushed herself up from the ground and reached down to help Elwurd up. She saw something flicker across Elwurd’s face that was impossible to read… it was gone so quickly.

* * *

They were on their way into the library to find Galekh, but he found them first. He was striding out of the library at a brisk pace, stopping as soon as he saw Lanque.

“Who in the world is this?” Galekh’s voice was suspicious and his body language was tense.

“It’s okay,” Daraya said, “he’s okay. He ran away from the caverns like I did.”

Galekh scowled. “That does _not_ fill me to the brim with excess confidence in his good intentions. However, we have a situation that requires immediate attention. Elwurd… I would like a word with you specifically. Your… friends may tag along if you wish.”

“Uh… sure,” Elwurd muttered, looking back at Daraya and shrugging. “Whatever.”

Galekh turned and walked quickly back into the library, toward the command center that Mallek had originally set up. Cirava wasn’t there, and there was a video viewscreen set up on the table that was serving as a console. On it, Daraya could see a troll partially shrouded in shadow. When she leaned forward, Daraya could see a young-looking troll with massive, round glasses and a face that looked more accustomed to smiling than holding the grim expression she currently wore.

“Galekh, are you ready? This is dangerous!” Her voice was shrill with worry.

“Yes, Amisia. Please be calm — Mallek ensured this setup was secure before his departure.”

“Fine, but this is important and I don’t feel like being the next target!”

Galekh nodded. “Very well. I will be brief.” He turned to the others and looked specifically at Elwurd. “This is Amisia Erdehn, one of our associates. She learned from her channels that Mallek Adalov was recently apprehended by a drone attack on a residential respiteblock.”

Daraya could feel her stomach dropping out. Mallek had only just gone out a few hours ago! And he knew how to keep off the Empire’s radar… there was no way they could just grab him like that!

“Yes,” Amisia said from the screen. “He was on his way to help retrieve an asset to our cause - a bronze blood who he’d been in contact with. Unfortunately we have no way of contacting them but… we do know for sure that Mallek is in Imperial custody.”

“Indeed,” Galekh said quietly. “Which brings me very quickly to my main point. Prior to his capture, Mallek was being prepared to take a position on our council — we have other cerulean bloods who have been invaluable assets and would’ve very much liked to integrate his skills with our own. However… that is no longer possible.” He took a deep breath and gathered himself up. “So… my point is that I would like you to potentially join us, Elwurd. You’re familiar with the basic organization, and you’ve proven yourself to be reliable and trustworthy.”

Elwurd backed up a step and put up her hands. “Whoa! What the fuck?! I never signed on for something like that! I’m fine with helping behind the scenes but this seems like a good way to end up on someone’s cull list.”

Galekh sighed and responded quickly — “Of course your reluctance is understandable. However, I believe you will be an excellent addition.”

“There is _no_ way I can make a decision like that just like that!” Elwurd shook her head and took another step back. “God… fuck this shit… I’m gonna head out!” She turned and walked out the door to the library.

“Galekh! Go after her!” Amisia yelled from the viewscreen.

But Galekh shook his head. “I will give her an hour to think this over and then we will reconvene.”

“Fine. Be that way… I’m going to sign off before I end up the same as Mallek.” Amisia abruptly cut the transmission and the viewscreen went dark.

Lanque had already walked out of the library, leaving Daraya alone with Galekh. He was somewhat intimidating to be standing near, but in the same way that Bronya was intimidating. It wasn’t so much a physical thing as the sense that he was planning his move so far in advance that most everyone else couldn’t even see the board.

“I know you set off the bombs,” Daraya said. “I mean… not _you_ but people working for you. I’m not stupid.”

“Oh? And what do you intend to do with this information? Report me to the Empire and collect a reward?” Galekh gave a little snort of a laugh. “That was a joke, by the way.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, whatever.” But then she fixed him with a stare. “You’re serious about destroying the Empire? About overthrowing it or revolution or whatever shit Mallek was always on about?”

“Maybe not in the specific way that Mallek imagined,” Galekh said, “but yes… basically, yes.”

_You can tell him._ There was something that maybe they could use against the Empire. It was a risk, yes, but it was important.

“There’s something in the jade caverns you need to know about. Something that only a couple of us know about…” She took in a deep breath, held it… let it out.

“Something that could really hurt the Empire.”


	25. Lead, Follow, Lead

the 5th night…

Bronze District, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1631 local time (0731 AUT) 

Chixie couldn’t decide if she wanted the Neophyte’s help or not, so she’d mostly just settled into glaring at her while they walked slowly through the Bronze District, trying to remain as unassuming as possible. Everything stayed just as clear as it had been a half hour before — the same vivid rush of images, sounds, and smells as the drone opened fire and cut down someone she’d only known for a short amount of time but had seemed to be a good and decent person. The Neophyte collapsing on the ground and, for reasons she wasn’t sure of anymore, Chixie sitting her up until she woke.

The Neophyte who’d led death back to them. Mallek was as good as dead now — probably due for torture and interrogation at the hands of the Legislacerators. Maybe eventually to be put on trial for the amusement of the high bloods. Chixie wasn’t sure how feasible that would be, given that the High Court’s flagship had recently fallen from orbit. More likely they’d just execute him once they had everything they needed.

Chixie fixed the back of the Neophyte’s head with a glare — as if she could pierce through her if she tried hard enough. They didn’t seem to be actually _going_ anywhere in particular so much as wandering aimlessly.

“Neophyte!” Chixie called out — the Neophyte froze and turned quickly. Her face was raw with terror.

“Don’t say that! You have no idea who might hear!” She looked around nervously. “I have a name… just call me Tyzias.”

Chixie glared at her. “I don’t care. You got my friend captured and you got Charun killed. I don’t care what your fucking _name_ is.”

Something flashed in Tyzias’ face — an exhaustion that ran so deep it burrowed right through her. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were tracking me.”

“Why wouldn’t they be? You’re just another one of their tools.” Chixie felt like spitting at her… but she didn’t deserve the effort.

Tyzias’ face shifted again and she looked off to the side. “I…” Her mouth turned down and her eyes began to water. “I know that. After Ascension… we all are.” She turned back around and started to walk again. “Come on… we need to keep moving.”

Chixie walked faster, keeping pace next to Tyzias. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, either you play their game or they take you off the board. You think your songs are making a difference out there?” Tyzias didn’t sound like she was mocking Chixie… she mostly just sounded _tired._

“I think what I have to say makes a difference, yeah.” Chixie frowned. “You don’t think so?”

Tyzias shrugged. “What do I know? I’m in the fucking Legiscorpus. Not that I had much choice in the matter… I thought maybe if I went into investigation I could… I don’t know. Help actually uncover the truth rather than bury it.”

“How’d that work out for you?” Chixie’s tone was accusatory. She wasn’t trying to hate Tyzias, but it was hard not to with everything that had just happened.

“Not well,” Tyzias said quietly — and she hung her head and stared down at the ground.

They walked in silence for a while more — Tyzias staring at the ground and Chixie alternating between looking straight ahead and glaring at Tyzias. Chixie didn’t really want to admit it, but the Neophyte’s whole posture was a woman who had been utterly defeated by everything. Someone who had one final hope that things could go the way she expected… and that hope was gone.

“What _is_ your plan, exactly? Just to keep walking until the drones find us too?” Chixie balled her fists angrily. “Are you planning to turn me in too?”

Tyzias sighed and stopped walking, and Chixie saw her tense up.

“They never wanted you. They barely even want Mallek.” Her voice was even, but it was obvious that she was taking a lot of effort to keep it that way. “That violet blood… the High Imperator… he thinks there’s something bigger happening than whatever Mallek was directly involved in. The clown — Marvus — wants to hold some big fucking show trial. They’re not on the same page at all, but there’s something else going on.”

“So what? What does this have to do with me or you or anything?”

Tyzias glared at her. “They don’t care about us! Marvus wanted Mallek as a symbol of the rebellion. The High Imperator wants to crush the actual rebellion, but he doesn’t know where they’re at yet. Thing is… I think Mallek knows where they’re located.”

Understanding dawned on Chixie. “They’re going to be interrogating him!”

“Maybe,” Tyzias said — her voice was starting to waiver. “They’ll probably want him in decent shape for the trial, but after that… or before that… they’ll get the information eventually. One way or another.”

“So... “ Chixie could feel her stomach cramping up at the realization. “Oh fuck… we need to warn the others.”

Tyzias glared, and their tone was thick with sarcasm. “What do you mean? I’m just a tool of the Empire, right?”

“Okay… so you’re not trying to lead them back to the rebels, but… why _are_ you doing this?”

Tyzias sighed and let her hands drop to her sides — she looked utterly defeated. “Because I have no idea what else to do. With someone like the High Imperator out there… I don’t know how to go forward. I’m not dozens of sweeps old. I’m not an experienced Legislacerator. I’m a nothing mid blood who helps to keep the wheels of the system turning.”

She grit her teeth and sniffled. “Thing is… my matesprit is involved in this too. I need to get in touch with her and I need to get us off the grid and figure out what to do next.”

Chixie studied her face closely — and she couldn’t see anything other than that mixture of pain and utter sincerity there. She was caught up in this like all of them were — caught up in a machine that would never let them go voluntarily. And no matter what temporary rest they found in their quadrants or their amusements, that machine would always be there. And there were people inside who wanted the machine to run… as long as they were okay. People like Zebruh, who would gladly destroy everyone they came into contact with in service of their own interests.

She stepped in toward Tyzias and spoke in a low voice. “You said you might be able to help — tell me what the hell you’re planning to do about any of this.”

“I… there was a time when I was interested in finding information on old revolutionary texts. Historic documents… old records of the Summoner and the Signless.”

Chixie’s eyes widened — this wasn’t something idle to talk about… being in possession of most of those documents could get someone culled.

“How? How did you find any of it?”

Tyzias nodded. “Yeah… I thought that might catch your ear. I had… resources. People I trusted in one of the jade conclaves. The Empire doesn’t want the information destroyed — they want it controlled.”

“Fine,” Chixie said quickly, “but how does that help us?”

“There’s records of an underground city that was formed by Trizza Tethis back when she was still the Heiress — a place they called Elysia. Some kind of cultural center or something, built under Everdim. But the records were all wiped out… which means that so was the city.”

A shiver ran down Chixie’s spine. “The Hidden City.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Tyzias responded. “And I think I actually have a pretty good idea of how to get there.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Chixie could feel the nervous energy rising in her — every second they were out in the open was another second that the drones could find them.

Tyzias frowned and shook her head before responding. “You said it yourself — they could still be following me. So we’re going to go underground and disappear. The drones can’t track anyone through the tunnels, and there’s a network that leads to where I _think_ the Hidden City probably is. I just… I need to send a secure message to someone first. If you’re okay with all of this… I guess I shouldn’t just make a decision for you, yeah?”

“I’m not just gonna forgive you for this,” Chixie said in a low voice. “Whether you meant to or not, you got someone killed… probably got two people killed. So… send your message and then let’s get the fuck underground.”

* * *

The Underground, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1742 local time (0842 AUT) 

The Neophyte — Tyzias — had kept her word. They went off into one of the many service tunnels beneath the city and began walking, seemingly at random. But Tyzias looked like she knew where she was going. And if she really wanted to serve the Empire, she could’ve easily killed Charun herself and taken both Mallek and Chixie in. That would’ve made her a small-time hero in the eyes of the Empire… so maybe the fact that she was risking her life to bring Chixie to the Hidden City meant something.

_She just wants to find it so they can destroy it._

But that didn’t really make sense either — if that were true, she could just as easily have led a strike team in the same way she was leading Chixie. It was looking more and more like she might’ve actually misjudged Tyzias.

“Okay, now here’s the tricky part,” Tyzias said. She stopped in the middle of the tunnel they were walking through and looked around. “If I remember right, Elysia was below the level of the normal service tunnels, with maintenance access points all over. We should be near one, so… look around for a buried access hatch or something.”

“Won’t they be sealed up?” Chixie wasn’t going to lie — she didn’t have much hope for this plan. But Tyzias just shrugged.

“If they are, then we’re just back where we started. Sorry… I’m kinda taking this thing one step at a time at this point.” That wasn’t encouraging to hear her say, but Chixie nodded and started to search the tunnel.

The service tunnels weren’t used much anymore — a relic to a time before some of her Impassioned Imperious Majesty’s so-called “improvement projects” had expanded above-ground facilities and increasingly relied on the drones that were being produced en masse up on the pink moon. The tunnel was covered in debris and filth, and Chixie was sure that if she found a hatch it would probably be welded shut anyway.

Ten minutes of kicking aside rubble and scuffing through debris, and she finally found something. A piece of discarded plywood that looked far too new to have been there for more than a perigee… and when Chixie shifted the plywood away, there was a large, square hatch buried underneath.

“I found something!” she called out to Tyzias, who came over to see. The hatch itself looked like it had once been welded at a point, but someone had cut it open.

“This wasn’t like this for long,” Tyzias said thoughtfully. “I think we might’ve found our way in.”

She reached down and hauled the hatch open — it creaked in resistance but quickly gave way and opened to reveal a passage leading down. A passage that was lit by strips of dim artificial lights along the sides.

“This definitely hasn’t been like this for long.” Tyzias frowned and turned to Chixie. “You ready for this?”

_As I’ll ever be._ “Yeah, let’s go.”

* * *

The passageway went down quite a ways and took a couple of turns, then straightened out and began a steady downward slope. After they walked for about ten minutes, the passage began to open up a little. Two more turns, a lot more downward slope, and the passage finally led to a heavy door set in the side of the wall.

“I think… this is the end of the line,” Tyzias muttered.

Chixie stepped in front of her and put a hand on the door handle. “Look, I’m going in there. I’m done being used. If you want to turn back, now’s the time to do it, Neophyte.”

Tyzias shook her head. “Don’t ever call me that again.”

Without another word, Chixie pulled the door open. On the other side was a large plaza with a vaulted cavern, lined with dilapidated buildings. The plaza itself was set on a sweeping set of stairs that led from an upper entrance down to a large, heavily-set building at the end. She stepped through the door and out into the plaza. The building at the end had a large sign that read “Elysia Libary” — Chixie remembered what Tyzias had said before about the origins of this place.

“We’re here…” Chixie’s voice was awed. “This was just… here the whole time.”

“Don’t get excited just yet,” Tyzias replied. “We haven’t actually found anyone here yet.”

Without waiting for her to say anything else, Chixie began to wander down the plaza stairs towards the library. It seemed like as good as a place as any. It was impressive, and it only got more impressive as she got closer. The library’s facade loomed above her, towering toward the cavern’s high ceiling.

She could hear voices from inside the library — several people talking, but not loudly enough to make out what they were saying. It sounded… like they were arguing about something. Chixie walked closer — slowly, trying to keep quiet. Glancing back, she could see Tyzias following at a distance.

From inside, someone sounding angry — “God… fuck this shit… I’m gonna head out!”

Chixie froze in place at the bottom of the stairs to the library. There was nowhere to hide.

From the doorway, a woman appeared — a troll wearing a dark blue canvas jacket with striking blue-dyed hair. She looked vaguely familiar to Chixie — someone from one of her shows?

The woman stopped and stared at them. She took another three steps toward Chixie, her face halfway between recognition and confusion. She squinted, and finally, she spoke —

“Who the fuck are you two?”


	26. Collection

the 5th night…

Bronze District, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 1803 local time (0903 AUT)

Tyzias had no idea who this woman was — other than the fact that she was hanging out in the Hidden City… which meant she was probably _not_ someone who was just a random bystander in all of this. She saw her stop, then walk towards Chixie.

“Who the fuck are you two?” Her face showed genuine confusion — she wasn’t expecting to see two random guests arrive. Not a complete surprise, given how this place wasn’t exactly advertised to outsiders. But they hadn’t guarded it or made much effort to protect the entrance either — an oversight that Tyzias thought they’d probably need to have a chat with someone about.

“I said… who the _fuck_ are you two?!” The woman took another step towards Chixie, then shot a glance at Tyzias. “I don’t know you! What are you doing here! Are you Legiscorpus?!”

“No!” Chixie shouted, then she added in a lower voice — “Well, technically _she_ is but I don’t think she really wants to be anymore.”

_Yeah, that’s true enough._ Tyzias wasn’t about to stand here and self-reflect while a stranger was shouting at them. Instead, she walked over to stand next to Chixie.

“I’m Tyzias Entykk, this is Chixie Roixmr—”

“I know who the fuck she is!” The woman cut her off. “I’ve been to her shows and I saw her on the Empire’s broadcast. Which is why I’m extremely not-fucking-okay with the idea of you two just kind of showing up unannounced!”

“No, wait,” Chixie stammered as she backed away. “No… this isn’t… we’re not…”

The woman turned her gaze to Tyzias. “And you… you’ve got the look of a Legislacerator all over you. And honestly I’m not sure if the word of an Empire stooge means much in your favor.” She began to walk towards Tyzias… and in a flash she had a knife out. _Where the fuck did she hide that?!_

Tyzias took a quick step back. “Holy fuck!” She reached back to her holster…

...her empty holster. _Fuck, I left the gun back in the apartment._

She was bearing down on Tyzias, knife held ready, and Tyzias knew that she didn’t have a chance. Whatever was going to happen, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop it. The woman grabbed her collar — and she was _strong._ Tyzias twisted and tried to move away, but the woman shifted her weight and Tyzias felt her feet give out from under her.

The knife was pressed to her throat.

“Sorry, tealie, but I can’t risk this.”

_Sorry, Stelsa… guess I couldn’t keep that promise…_

There was a muffled _thump_ as something struck the side of the woman’s head and she reeled over, letting Tyzias go long enough for her to scramble back a few more feet. Chixie was standing there, fists raised. She glared at the woman with the knife.

“I’m not working for the Empire and neither is she! After everything we did to get here and you’re acting like this!” Her voice was laced with a fury that belied her small frame. “Charun died for this! Mallek was taken by the Empire for this!”

The woman’s eyes grew wide. “Wait… what? You know Mallek?”

Chixie glared. “Of course I do! I was playing shows because he wanted me there.”

In an instant, the woman had the knife away and she was laughing. “Oh… of course! Of _course_ you’re here now. Because life’s not enough of a series of fucked-up coincidences as it is.” She took another step towards Tyzias, but this time she extended a hand. “The name’s Elwurd, tealie.”

“Don’t touch me,” Tyzias snapped. Elwurd shrugged and turned back to Chixie.

“You know Mallek got taken? How?”

Chixie’s shoulders slumped and her face fell when she responded. “We were there when he got grabbed by the drone. They blasted in through the wall and… they killed someone who’d been helping me out.”

Tyzias nodded and added — “I think they tracked me when I went to find Chixie. I’m not… exactly supposed to be doing any of this.”

She could see fear back in Elwurd’s face. “Tracked you? What the fuck, tealie?! Why’re you bringing this here?!”

“Don’t worry,” Tyzias responded — she was composed enough to get the sarcastic edge back in her voice. “I made sure to ditch any possible tail by using the underground tunnels to get here. Your secret city is safe.”

“Fine.” Elwurd was beginning to pace back and forth, her face a mixture of confusion and anger. “I can’t believe they got Mallek. This is so fucked up.”

Tyzias watched her pace for a minute before responding — she still wasn’t sure how much she trusted Elwurd not to try to stab her again. “I think something’s going on between the high bloods. That clown — Marvus — he wants to hold a trial. And the High Imperator just wants to fucking kill everyone. I was told not to prioritize finding Mallek so… I don’t know, I guess I just don’t like being ordered around.”

That managed to get a smirk from Elwurd. “Defying the High Imperator, huh? Okay… that takes a lot of bulge — I can respect that.” She scowled. “Doesn’t really change anything though. We’re still basically fucked and I don’t want to pick this shit up.”

As this conversation was going on, Tyzias noticed that another troll had walked out — a woman with a black bob wearing an outfit that looked like it was a counter-cultural take on the standard jade cloister uniform. She looked at the three of them in turn and spoke in a loud voice — “Okay, what the fuck’s going on and who the fuck are these two?”

Elwurd gestured over at them. “Well… this is the lowblood singer that decided to sing that subversive song in front of an audience of millions and some probably-soon-to-be-former Legiscorpus teal.”

“Great,” the newcomer said with narrowed eyes. “That’s just great that this shit is getting even more complicated.”

“Aww, Daraya, aren’t you gonna introduce yourself to these folks,” Elwurd said with an adopted lilt to her voice.

“No. Fuck… Elwurd, we need to figure this shit out! This is serious!” Daraya growled in frustration and her face scrunched up into a frown. Tyzias had no idea what she’d walked into, but she was rapidly getting the sense that it came with a lot of pre-existing baggage.

“Honey… we shouldn’t fight in front of company,” Elwurd said in a voice that verged on mocking. Daraya glared at her and shook her head.

“Stop it. I’m not your spade — you don’t get to talk to me like that.”

Tyzias stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Excuse me — I _really_ hate to interrupt all of… whatever this is… but we have a very serious fucking problem. In case you didn’t _notice_ that at all. I mean… it’s not a big deal, just that the only man who’s not afraid of the Empress herself is out there getting ready to rain fucking fire down on us. _No big deal at all!_ ” Tyzias looked at each of them and glared. “Is there _anyone_ around here that’s more interested in figuring this out than squabbling like a fucking wiggler?”

“That would be me, I would think.” The voice was loud and confident, and it carried all the way from the top of the steps where another troll was standing — a tall troll wearing a dark suit. “My name is Galekh Xigisi… I do not believe we’ve had the pleasure of being formally introduced.” Galekh strode down the steps, walking directly toward Tyzias.

“Okay, who the fuck are you then?” Tyzias squinted at the approaching troll. “You say your name like it should mean something.”

But he shook his head and he smiled — “Oh, not at all. I exist purely as all indigo bloods do — high up enough that we’re mostly left to our own devices, but too powerless to make any substantive changes. However… I believe you may be familiar with some of the work myself and my compatriots have done.”

“You blew up a bunch of rusties who didn’t even want to be there in the first place. Congratulations… your nobility is truly staggering,” Tyzias said, making sure to coat every word with sarcasm.

Galekh raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I make absolutely no claims to nobility. If you do not mind retiring to the library, perhaps we can discuss this in a more comfortable setting?”

Tyzias shrugged and sighed heavily. “Fine.”

* * *

Inside the library, it looked like they’d set up a portable command center, complete with monitors and computer consoles. But they didn’t stop there — Galekh led them back through the main room and off to a hallway to the side that led down into a series of smaller studies. One at the end was lit from within by lamplight.

As Galekh led them inside the study, Tyzias saw that it was comfortably appointed with furniture that looked like it had been here since Elysia was still Elysia. A few items were clearly new, including a computer set on a heavy desk and a comfortable-looking chair. A number of small chairs were arranged in a semi-circle by the desk, most likely as a provision for guests. Galekh motioned for them to sit and then dropped into the large chair behind the desk and propped his elbows on the desk top.

“So, do you mind enlightening me on what it is you’re doing here, Ms… ?”

“Entykk. Tyzias Entykk. I’d say the Neophyte part but I’m not sure I’ll be able to come back from this, to be quite honest.”

“Wonderful,” Galekh said in a deadpan. “What are you doing here?”

“I was assigned to investigate the bombing, along with my matesprit. But that apparently involves some kind of political games with the clowns and the fucking High Imperator so… not really interested in helping him a few thousand more people on a whim or something. Mallek Adalov was in contact with this one—” she gestured to Chixie — “and mentioned something called the Hidden City. I’m familiar with some of the old stories. A bit of off-the-books research and all that.”

“Ah,” Galekh nodded politely. “You put two and two together, as they say.”

“Sure. But I still don’t get what your deal is. Assuming you’re part of the group that blew up the Auctoritatis too?”

Galekh nodded, and Tyzias continued — “Yeah, okay, thought so. Which… probably a better way to hurt the Empire than killing a bunch of recruits, but still… what’s the end goal here?”

“Simply put? Alliance building and overthrow. There’s thousands of trolls who don’t want to be under the yoke of the Empire. Having a few higher bloods to help guide and facilitate that… you’d be amazed what a difference it can make.” He nodded to Elwurd, who frowned and looked down at the ground. “And we still have plenty of people working behind the scenes. People in all strata of society.”

“Great — I’m sure that’s really good news for you. But what the fuck is your plan now? The High Imperator isn’t going to play around!”

Galekh leaned forward, and a smile crept across his face. “Oh, I know. And I would imagine it’s only a matter of time before he discovers this place. We lack the forces on the ground to defend it properly. But there are places we could go to secure… an alliance.” He looked directly at Daraya, whose eyes showed nothing but confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Daraya asked quickly — and then the realization dawned on her. “The… the jade caverns? Are you fucking kidding me? After I told… you know what, never mind. This is a fucking terrible idea.”

“And why is that?” Galekh asked calmly. “Why, I have two jade bloods in this very city who can vouch for my intentions. Is your Prioress not a woman of principal?”

Daraya glared. “She’s not a fucking Prioress. This is stupid.” She began to get up, but she seemed to catch a look from Galekh and sat back down.

“Indeed,” Galekh said quietly. “I think that perhaps you and I should discuss something in private.”

The look on Daraya’s face wasn’t just worry — it was real fear. She muttered softly — “Okay, fine.”

Galekh motioned to the others — “Very well then. The rest of you may go make yourselves at home for the time being.”

* * *

Back outside of the library, Elwurd walked up to Tyzias and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, no hard feelings about before. I really thought you were here to fuck things up for us.”

Tyzias shrugged the hand off and grit her teeth. “It doesn’t matter. Leave me the hell alone — if you don’t figure out what to do properly, you’re going to have very real and very immediate problems.”

Ignoring Elwurd’s attempt to respond, Tyzias took out her palmhusk and began typing quickly.

ferventnihilist began chatting with s_sezyat at 1827 AST (0927 AUT)

Tyzias

are you alone right nowwww? can you talk?

Stelsa

OH THANK GOODNESS, ZIZI!   
I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!   
I HEARD ABOUT THE REBEL BEING CAPTURED AND THEN YOU WEREN’T BACK AND I COULDN’T GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU AND…   
OH GOODNESS, ZIZI, I THOUGHT SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAD HAPPENED!

Tyzias

not a chance, stels!   
but i need you to do sommmmething and it’s gonna sound crazy   
i need you to trust mmmme

Stelsa

YOU KNOW I TRUST YOU

Tyzias

i’mmmm going to send you sommmme directions   
i need you to slip awwwway frommmm the performmmmance tonight and followwww themmmm   
and i need you to mmmmake sure you’re not followwwwed

Stelsa

ZIZI?   
WHAT’S GOING ON HERE? THIS IS STARTING TO SCARE ME…

Tyzias

please   
it’s hard to explain over a mmmmessage but please trust mmmme

Stelsa

OKAY, ZIZI   
I CAN ALWAYS SAY I’M FOLLOWING A LEAD UP   
I DON’T THINK THEY CARE MUCH ABOUT US RIGHT NOW

Tyzias

yeah… i think you’re probably right

Tyzias put the palmhusk away and looked around. Elwurd was still there, sitting off to the side on the steps — maybe waiting for someone? Tyzias wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t sure that she cared much either. Leaving Elwurd on the steps, Tyzias wandered back up toward the library itself. She wondered what it was that the jade blood and Galekh had to discuss that was so incredibly important.

Inside the library’s main foyer, a couple trolls sat around — one of them smoking something out of a small pipe and the other reading quietly. Tyzias didn’t bother to try to introduce herself — she wasn’t much in the mood for socializing at the moment. Instead she sat down in a bench against the wall… and she waited.

Surely enough, after a few minutes Daraya came walked back out from Galekh’s study, her fists balled up and a heavy scowl on her face.

“Hey, Daraya,” Tyzias called out to her. “Can we talk for a second?”

She glared, but then her shoulders relaxed. “Fine. Fine, we can talk… just make it quick.”

Tyzias stood up — and together they walked to one of the unused studies off the side of the library foyer. As soon as they were inside, Daraya shot her another glare —

“What the fuck do you want, anyway?”

“There’s some stuff you need to know about.”

Her eyebrows raised and she frowned. “Why me? Why not go tell Galekh? Elwurd?”

“Because I don’t fucking trust them,” Tyzias said plainly. “And someone needs to know what’s been happening out there in the last couple cycles.”

Daraya waited for a moment, not saying anything… and then she nodded. “Okay, fine. Why the fuck not?”


	27. Nerves

the 5th night…

Imperial Theater, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 2015 local time (1115 AUT)

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 2015 AST (1115 AUT)

Skylla

Yyou got a minute to talk?   
Uh… since we’re moirails now!

Konyyl

Yeah, about that…   
Not the moirail part — that’s GREAT   
The minute to talk part   
I do, but… I think you need to hear this…

Skylla

What do yyou mean?

Konyyl

I’m heading to the Iustitia tomorrow — that hasn’t changed   
But they’re starting to move troops around down here too   
Like, off-world troops   
Something big is happening

Skylla

What? Whyy?

Konyyl

No idea   
I’m just a recruit   
But this feels like something that might be heading your way   
You know with the whole bombing and all

Skylla

I don’t know how much longer I can do this, Konyyyyl.   
I don’t know how manyy more times I can get up and tell the same lies.   
Real people I know died. A lot of them. Some of them were myy friends.   
And I’m acting like I have anyy right to sayy anyything.   
The onlyy reason I’m not dead is because I was too weak and stupid to just get over it all.

Konyyl

I can’t believe I’m about to say this BUT…   
You’re not weak and you’re not stupid   
Not for living   
Not for missing your lusus   
Not for wanting to stop lying all the time

Skylla

Not gonna lie — didn’t think I’d ever hear yyou sayy that either.   
YYou the same person who was never happyy unless a fight was good and bloodyy?

Konyyl

Skylla… this thing we’re in now, it’s not fighting   
It’s not even killing   
It’s being part of a machine   
There’s no glory here at all no matter how much we want it   
Me and Daja… we used to be in this all together   
We took jobs because we wanted to   
Not because some violet blood told us to

Skylla

I’m sorryy. It’s not what I expected either.   
I thought it’d be exciting — like a big fucking adventure.   
But this all feels like politics all the time.

Konyyl

Exactly   
I just want to go back to how things were

Skylla

Me too.

Skylla bent over and started to cry. For everything that she’d had to leave behind — for everything that she’d never have again. For all of the people she’d already lost and the people she would surely lose in the future. Over and over again until she finally died and then, at least, she’d be free of that cycle.

_Too much of a coward to even speed that process along, right?_

She cradled her face in her hands and whimpered softly. She wished she could be the way Konyyl was — that she could be so relentlessly unafraid of anything. But Konyyl was right too — they were all just part of a machine now. Even with the expectations put on them — even with the constant struggle that was life on Alternia — at least they’d been relatively free. As free as anyone could be under the current system… unless they were a high blood. For people like her and Konyyl, it was predetermined.

There was nothing Skylla wanted to do less than get up on that stage again and tell everyone that she was a hero who had _almost_ saved all of those other soldiers. To sit across from the clown and lie again and again and nod along while he talked about her heroism and dedication to the Empire.

In her heart, Skylla knew the truth — she hated the Empire. And with every single cycle that passed, she hated the Empire more and more.

A heavy knock on the door to the dressing room — and she knew who it would be. Skylla stood up and walked over to let Marvus Xoloto in.

“Hey girl,” he said with a broad grin. “Headin onstage in just a few. You good?”

She nodded silently and Marvus frowned.

“That’s good, girl — cause you look like you’ve been cryin more than a lil bit.”

Skylla shook her head. “I’m just… just upset over everything.” That seemed to be enough for Marvus — he smiled.

“That’s fine. We want the audience to really _feel_ what you went through. At least what they think you went through.” He nodded knowingly. “Can I get you anythin, girl? Shit’s crazy right now.”

Why was he being so nice to her? He didn’t make any sense — he was well within his rights to act basically however he wanted, but Marvus always talked to her like they were friends. And underneath his mannerisms, there was a lurking undercurrent of menace… but it didn’t feel like it was directed at Skylla. He carried himself like someone who’d long ago gotten used to concealing the anger they felt. And there _was_ anger there — something deep and righteous and Skylla had no idea where it was coming from.

_Does he hate the rebels that much? What happened to him?_

Skylla shook her head.

“Nah? Okay, that’s fine too — we’re all good. I’m gonna get ready to pop out after this opening act and get the folks all worked up. I miss that other girl we had up there… she was better.” Marvus shrugged, his face impossible to read. “Anyway — I’ma head out, girl. See you in a few.”

And he was gone.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 2022 AST (1122 AUT)

Skylla

What I just walked awayy?   
What would theyy even do?

Konyyl

Seriously?   
Hunt you down and cull you

Skylla

What if theyy never found me?   
What if I went somewhere theyy’d just forget about me?

Konyyl

I mean… if you could pull it off?   
I don’t think they’re gonna care about a random lowblood

Skylla

I can’t do this one more time.   
I’ll contact yyou when I can, but please don’t worryy about me.

Konyyl

I can’t fucking promise THAT!   
But I believe in you   
Honestly if I could I’d burn this shit to the ground   
If we’re gonna die it might as well be on the path to glory, right?

Skylla

God yyou’re so fucking much all the time.   
I care about yyou, Konyyyyl. Don’t ever stop.

Konyyl

Ha   
Not a fucking CHANCE

Skylla put the palmhusk away and turned to the door. She waited a few more minutes, just to make sure that Marvus was definitely on stage. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped out into the hallway. If she took the turn to the right, it would lead her to the stage area… toward another cycle of lying to everyone and wondering why she was even still alive. To the left was a hallway that led to the exit and uncertainty.

Skylla turned left and began to walk. Every step she took was another one towards freedom — towards an uncertainty that was terrifying, but also intriguing with the possibilities it opened up in front of her. She planted one foot in front of the other — fighting every step of the way through the gnawing terror that was creeping inside of her guts.

The exit was so close she could see it — could see the heavy door that led to freedom. At least to temporary freedom, anyway. And for the moment, that was enough.

“Where are you going?” The voice sounded behind her — too light and quiet to be the clown. She turned and saw one of the two teals from before. The one who always managed to look stylish even in the standard-issue Auditerrorizer’s suit she was always wearing.

Skylla froze.

“I said… where are you going?” The troll said again. _Stelsa — that was her name, right?_ That sounded right. “Are you planning on answering me?”

Stelsa walked toward her — she looked nervous and for some reason she was carrying a large, folded piece of cloth in her arms.

“I was just…” Skylla couldn’t think of a good reason to be so close to the exit this close to showtime. It would be daylight soon, so the idea that she was headed out for a bit of fresh air would be laughably easy to punch a hole through. “Just…”

Stelsa narrowed her eyes at Skylla. “Because it _looks_ like you were trying to duck out the back before you went on stage.” She drew herself up next to Skylla and her voice dropped. “In fact… it looks like you’re trying to run away. Maybe you’re planning not to come back?”

There was something about her voice — she didn’t sound _angry_ at Skylla. If anything, she sounded _hopeful._

_What the fuck — what’s the worst that could happen?_

“That’s right,” she said evenly. “I’m gonna be walking out that door and then I don’t know what I’m gonna next. And I guess… I guess if you’re gonna try to stop me then we’re gonna fight this out and see what happens, because I’m not fucking going back up there and telling their lies.”

Without warning, a look of utter relief broke over Stelsa’s face — Skylla stared in confusion.

“Oh thank goodness!” She leaned in. “Do you have somewhere to go?”

Skylla shook her head. _What the fuck is going on here?_

Stelsa nodded. “That’s okay! I got a message from Zizi — Tyzias — telling me somewhere safe to go. I’m sure you can come too. We’ll need to travel carefully to make sure we’re not followed, but this will help!” She shook out the bundle in her arms, revealing a large traveling cloak. “I can grab you one too!”

“What?” Skylla wasn’t sure _what_ to say to any of this.

“Come on… you need to make a decision _now!_ They’re going to notice we’re gone when you don’t make your curtain call!”

Skylla blinked at her… and then nodded. “Okay, fine. Let’s go!”

* * *

Minutes later, they were both wearing the traveling cloaks and headed outside the theater. Stelsa led the way, walking quickly and keeping the cloak’s hood pulled over her head. Skylla kept pace next to her — it wasn’t easy, even with her long strides.

“You mind telling me _where_ we’re going?” Skylla asked. Stelsa nodded — the cloak rustled.

“Tyzias sent me directions to an underground location she’s at right now. She didn’t say why… but it has to have something to do with everything that’s been happening lately.”

Skylla nodded and they fell into silence as they kept walking. In the distance, Skylla could hear the external speakers on the theater that played the audio from inside loud enough to be heard anywhere near the theater. Marvus was thanking the opening act for their performance, and giving a bit of a speech about how he was proud to once again introduce Specialist blah blah blah.

_You fucking liar. I’m gonna miss you any more than the rest._

On the speaker, Marvus paused for a second — a lot longer than he would normally need. He must’ve just been informed that Skylla was nowhere to be found.

Without missing a beat, the voice continued — Marvus was saying that it seems like the specialist had suddenly come down with a stomach virus. He made a joke — “fights off dozens of terrorists but taken out of commission by a virus… ain’t that how it always goes?” — and then he kept going. He began telling Skylla’s “story” better than she ever could.

_And why not? He probably helped write it._

“We need to hurry up,” Skylla said under her breath. “He might be stalling for now but he’ll probably call it short and send people out to find us. I hope that wherever we’re going that it’s secure.”

Stelsa sounded worried when she replied. “I don’t know… but I trust Zizi. She wouldn’t ask me to do something that she thought would get me hurt.”

Without another word, the two women kept walking… into the brightening light of the harsh Alternian dawn.


	28. REVELATION | ИOITA⅃ƎVƎЯ

the 5th day…

The Underground, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0117 local time (1617 AUT)

Daraya was anxious and she was keyed-up. She still wasn’t sure why she’d bothered to agree to come along with this Legislacerator ( _former_ Legislacerator?) so she could meet up with her girlfriend. She wasn’t sure why she’d trusted her enough to talk to her in the first place. Wasn’t, when she thought about it, really sure of much of anything lately.

Apparently the directions that Tyzias had given to her matesprit led to the same access tunnel that she and Chixie had used to come into the Hidden City. They were going to wait in the tunnel at the other end and, when the other teal showed up and they could make sure she wasn’t followed, they would head back down into the city.

After what Tyzias had opened up and told her, Daraya figured she couldn’t really claim not to trust her… but she still wasn’t sure if she _liked_ her or not. It was complicated — an expression of a few different conflicting emotions that all wanted to come out at once. It wasn’t especially helpful, because she still needed to focus on the tasks at hand.

And there was still the other matter… something that she’d been reluctant to tell _anyone_ else. But now Galekh knew… and Daraya still wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. She’d only ever talked to Lynera about it before, and maybe she should’ve run it by her first. Not that it especially mattered now — everything was constantly changing now. Ever since the bombings — ever since Galekh’s rebellion had decided to declare war on the entire fucking Alternian Empire.

“What are you sitting there brooding about?” Tyzias asked her — she didn’t love the way that Tyzias always sounded sarcastic when she talked… it reminded her too much of herself.

“Nothing.” She really didn’t want to talk about it right then — she had too much else on her mind.

“Sure,” Tyzias rolled her eyes and Daraya glared. “You know… I feel like I was pretty up front with you as far as everything goes…”

“Oh? That you’re a Legislacerator who’s now having serious issues of self-doubt? And that’s supposed to… what? Instill me with a deep and abiding trust that you’re not going to sell me out to the Empire? Okay, fine… I’ll give you that one. That still doesn’t mean that I have to say shit to you. I don’t even have a good reason to trust you, if you really think about it.”

“The fact I’m going out on this in a way that could easily get me killed if anyone above me found out doesn’t matter to you?”

Daraya shrugged — “No, not really.” _Why am I even acting like this to her? She’s no less trustworthy than Galekh or any of the others as far as I can tell._

She sighed. “You know what… never mind, okay? I’m just… I’ve got a lot on my mind.” _You need to tell someone else. Just in case. Just in case he’s not who he says he is._

“Okay, that’s fair,” Tyzias said with a shrug — and she went back to leaning on the tunnel wall in silence and waiting for her matesprit to show up.

* * *

Southern Caverns - 0117 local time (1617 AUT)

Sleep had been an especially rare commodity those last few days, and Lynera found herself awake far earlier than she’d meant to be. Bronya was sleeping in the sopor a few feet away, and Lynera sat at the desk in Bronya’s room, tapping the top of the large wooden desk idly and considering how she’d even gotten there in the first place.

The night had gone more-or-less normally… _No, that’s a lie._

The night had gone nothing like she was used to. Once Lanque left to go off… wherever he planned to go… Lynera had gone running back to Bronya’s respite chamber, barely able to stop herself from crying. And she’d just kind of… broken down in there. Crying in a way that was messy and unpleasant and raw and… it had helped a little bit. Because Bronya was there. And having someone else to actually talk to about how she felt helped a lot, especially when it was the person who she had so many of those feelings for.

They still had things to do — grubs to attend to and lusii to keep track of. So the remainder of the night went much like any other night — except that Lynera felt a little bit lighter in one way, and a little heavier in another. She wasn’t sure if the balance was worth it — the trade of seeing her feelings toward Bronya reciprocated in exchange for the others starting to abandon the caverns. That wasn’t what was happening — wasn’t even close to the truth — but it _felt_ real and that was enough to stick inside Lynera’s mind.

That night had been a mixture of doing her duty and constantly second-guessing herself. And then at the end of the night, she’d ended up back in Bronya’s room. She didn’t even really _plan_ to go back there, but she went to talk to Bronya and she felt like she needed to say something else about what they’d done together and…

Then they were doing it again. Lynera had spent more time than she really wanted to admit thinking about it, and it still didn’t quite feel _real_... but it certainly _felt_ real enough. There was that same urgency as before — pushed up against the desk and gasping as…

Lynera blushed to herself. It still didn’t seem real. What did it mean for them? Were they matesprits now? Was that what it meant when you coincidentally started sleeping in the same recupercoon as someone and fucking them every chance you got?

_Positively indecent!_ Except that she didn’t _care_ anymore because ignoring how she felt had only gotten her hurt again and again and again. She’d made the decision that she would never go back to that — never go back to ignoring what she knew in her heart.

_Then you have something to tell her, don’t you?_ She knew it was more than an idle thought. Lynera looked over at the recupercoon — Bronya’s head rested on the edge and she was sleeping… her lips parted slightly as she breathed. And Lynera felt the tone of her thoughts changing dramatically.

_What if she hates me for keeping it from her?!_ Did that really seem _likely_ given the last cycle? Or maybe it was just that Bronya found some enjoyment in the immediacy of what they were doing together and had no intentions whatsoever of following through on it. That seemed… wrong… Lynera grit her teeth and leaned against the desk.

* * *

The Underground, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0144 local time (1644 AUT)

“Can I ask you something?” Daraya said, squinting at Tyzias. And before the teal could even respond, she immediately continued — “What exactly did you think was going to happen as a Legislacerator? Like, you seem to be kinda torn up about this whole rebellion thing but… what did you think was going on? Did you really believe you were part of something other than what you were?”

Tyzias looked like she was about to yell, but her face abruptly softened and she looked down at the ground. “I don’t know. A while ago… before my Ascension… I started finding these old subversive books that the Legiscorpus training hive had access to. Stuff we weren’t supposed to actually read, but it was preserved as a kind of _know your enemy_ thing. But I guess… it gave me some ideas.”

“So you though that the best way to act on them was to join the fucking Legislacerators?” She saw Tyzias bristle at that question.

“No…” she didn’t look comfortable with her own answer, but she kept talking anyway. “I guess I didn’t think much about it beyond wanting vaguely to make things better. I thought I could get on the inside of it and make things better. But… that’s not how things actually work. I was wrong, okay? Do you feel smug enough with me saying that or do you want more?”

She shook her head. “I’m not trying to feel smug — you’re being a gaper. I was raised to be in a fucking conclave and I just wanted to get the fuck out of there. I wasn’t planning to get wrapped up in a fucking rebellion but… I don’t know. I guess what else am I doing? Going back and waiting to fucking die while I watch grubs?”

_You should go back. At least let them know you’re okay._

Daraya sighed to herself.

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 0149 AST (1649 AUT)

Daraya

▲ Hey… I just wanted you to know that I’m not dead. ▲   
▲▲ I mean, I’m fine. I’m okay. Please don’t worry about me. ▲▲   
▼ I’m sorry if I made Bronya worry. ▼   
▼▼▼ I’m sorry if I made you worry. ▼▼▼

▲▼ I guess what I’m saying is I’m just sorry in general. ▲▼   
▼ Why the fuck am I even saying all this to you? ▼   
▼▼ You’re such a pain in the ass… ▼▼   
▼▼▼ I miss you so fucking much ▼▼▼

_Well, too late to pull that one back. If I get any more emotionally honest I’ll be fucking sincere._

She looked over at Tyzias, still standing against the wall.

* * *

Southern Caverns, South Alternia - 0144 local time (1644 AUT)

A half hour hadn’t made a bit of difference — Lynera was still sitting at the same desk and still feeling basically the same. As much as she tried to push it away, the self-doubt kept crawling back inside. It kept making the same home it always had, right underneath the edges of her conscious mind. It was something she’d learned to live with… but it hurt her all the same.

_She’ll never want to be with you again, you know. She’ll hate you… and not in a pitch way. She’ll just hate you and then everything you’re just now getting to experience… it’ll be gone._

Lynera leaned forward and clutched her arms around her chest and, softly, began to cry. She was trying very hard not to wake Bronya up — not to raised questions that she didn’t feel like she could answer. She just wanted to be by herself — not because she _actually_ wanted to be alone, but because she didn’t feel like she deserved any differently.

This was destined to be something ephemeral — something of a red fling and a couple cycles of passion and then Bronya would forget about it. Bronya would ignore her because everyone always ignored her.

_Yeah… that’s right. Because no one truly cares about you._ Even the people who told her that they did. Even the person who she’d shared all of herself with. _I don’t… I don’t want to believe that about her!_ And it didn’t matter what she _wanted_ to believe because no matter what she thought or felt or wanted… what _was_ simply _was._

There were a few people she knew wouldn’t do that — wouldn’t tell her one thing and think another. But mostly that was because they hated her… and there was only one who she felt _might_ hate her in a way that wasn’t genuine, heartfelt vitriol. Lynera bent over the desk and grabbed for the palmhusk she’d set down on the edge of it.

foreverVigilant began chatting with waywardspirit at 0149 AST (1649 AUT)

Lynera

-Daraya I shouldn’t be messaging you   
-Because you’re a bitch who abandoned us!!!   
-But…

-I guess I can’t do that right now   
-I guess maybe it’s not worth it anymore   
-And I guess maybe I don’t care about any of it   
-!!At least you don’t fucking lie to me!!

-I can’t keep living like this   
-Everything’s always like this and   
-I miss you   
-!!Why the fuck do I miss you?!!   
-I wish things weren’t like this

She set the palmhusk down slowly and turned to look at Bronya, still sleeping in the sopor across the room.

* * *

The Underground, City of Everdim, South Alternia - 0226 local time (1726 AUT)

Daraya could hear the sound of footsteps before anyone came into view — she and Tyzias sat up and she saw Tyzias start to reach for a gun that wasn’t there. Daraya pressed herself up against the side of the tunnel and Tyzias sank back into the shadows.

Two women came around the corner — one impeccably dressed in a suit and the other wearing a simple outfit that looked like one of the Army’s everyday uniforms. Daraya recognized the second one from the Imperial broadcast.

Tyzias recognized the first one though — she broke from where she was and ran forward, yelling “Stels!” — she hit the woman at a run and they were embracing each other, spinning in place, and kissing each other. _Well, I guess that answers who that is._

The other woman — the rust blood from the broadcast — walked off to the side and stood there looking uncomfortable. Daraya stood up and walked over to her.

“Who the fuck are you?” She asked. “I know who _she_ is because Tyzias made that… clear.” She rolled her eyes.

The woman nodded. “Skylla Koriga. Formerly of the Alternian Army although… I don’t think I’m going back to that after last night.” Skylla narrowed her eyes. “Who’re you?”

“Daraya Jonjet… uh… formerly of the jade caverns, I think. Don’t know if I’d be able to go back there either.” She shifted over to the side and glanced at Tyzias and Stelsa. The two teals were still holding each other tightly and rocking in place. “I… I guess those two are still going, huh?”

Skylla cleared her throat loudly enough for it to echo in the tunnel and the two teals immediately looked over. Skylla nodded — “You two all done now? I feel like we need to keep moving.”

Daraya smirked at them. “I see you missed each other.” They both blushed and looked off to the side.

Tyzias took a deep breath. “This is Stelsa Sezyat and… I suppose she’s brought Skylla Koriga with her too. Not sure why…” She looked over at Stelsa, who nodded.

“It’s fine,” Stelsa said quietly, “she’s okay.”

_They need to know._ Daraya looked at the three of them assembled in the tunnels. _They need to know now._

“You’re… you’re all on the run from the Empire now, aren’t you?” Daraya asked — she looked at them again, one at a time. “The Legiscorpus will be looking for all of you… maybe not right away, but soon. And the Army isn’t going to want one of their soldiers… their _property_... just walking away. You’re all in this now, aren’t you?”

Tyzias shrugged. “Yeah… I think we passed that point a while back. Sure. Why? You still don’t know if you can trust me or something like that?”

_They NEED to know._ Daraya sighed. “No, it’s not that. It’s just… let’s get into the tunnel and sit down. I need to tell you something.”

Moments later, they were through the heavy hatch, in the low tunnel and sitting in the dim light of the underground passage. Daraya sighed again — took a deep breath… and… _Now or never._

“There’s something in the jade caverns you need to be aware of — something that not many people know about. Me… another jade named Lynera… not even our… well, not our Prioress because she’s not one… but the one in charge doesn’t know. Not yet.”

Daraya looked at the three of them again — they were all staring at her… wondering where this was going.

She collected herself — she could feel the shaking starting. “Deep in the jade caverns, there’s a place where… where eggs can be held in a special slime processed from the mother grub. If you immerse an egg in the slime, it’ll stay viable… basically forever. For dozens of sweeps… hundreds of sweeps, even. And normally we don’t use it, except sometimes we need to hold certain eggs for later. High bloods who the Empress might need… or we hold them in anticipation of something big happening and wiping a bunch of a certain blood color out. That kind of stuff…”

She stopped and took another breath. “And we have something hidden in the caverns. An egg that’s been there for sweeps and _no one_ knows. Something we’re not supposed to have there.”

Tyzias… actually laughed at her. She leaned forward, a smirk on her face. “Oh? This is your big secret? That you’ve got an egg hidden away? Who the fuck cares! We’re in the middle of a rebellion and your _big fucking secret_ is an egg.” She laughed and leaned back, putting an arm around Stelsa and rolling her eyes. “What, you got a goddamn mutant blood egg? The next Signless waiting to be born and lead this rebellion to glory?”

Daraya fixed her a blank stare, and Tyzias faltered — something was wrong with this whole situation and she _knew it._

Daraya gathered herself up again. _Last chance to back out…_

“No,” she said quietly. “Not the next Signless. Don’t be stupid.”

She looked directly at Tyzias.

“The next Empress.”

* * *

Southern Caverns, South Alternia - 0226 local time (1726 AUT)

Lynera had her head down on the desk when she noticed Bronya stirring out of the corner of her eye. By the time she got up the willpower to lift herself from the desk, Bronya was standing over her. She hadn’t bothered to get dressed, and Lynera quickly turned away and started blushing.

“What’s wrong, Lynera?” she asked quietly — and she leaned over and ran a hand through Lynera’s hair. “1 — you couldn’t sleep, and 2 — you’ve been… crying?”

Lynera didn’t even bother trying to deny it. “Yes.”

Bronya knelt down next to her and put a hand along the side of her head — a gentle touch that didn’t feel like it belonged alongside all the doubts that Lynera had just been feeling. She ran her hand down the edge of Lynera’s jaw and back in a motion that felt soothing and intimate and Lynera didn’t want it to stop.

_You need to tell her the truth._ The sudden force of the thought was disturbing. _She trusts you. You need to tell her._

She reached up and put her hand over Bronya’s, squeezing softly and leaning her face into the gentle touch. “Bronya… I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Bronya asked. “I don’t see what you have to be sorry about. Is this about Daraya and Lanque? That isn’t your fault… you can’t control what other people do or think or feel. You can just be honest about yourself and… the rest is up to everyone else to account for.”

_I can’t lie to her anymore._

“Bronya… there’s something I need to tell you about. Something that I’ve been keeping from you?”

Bronya didn’t say anything, but Lynera could feel her tense up. But she didn’t break contact with Lynera’s cheek, and she didn’t say anything other than a soft “Yes?” that sounded kind and affectionate.

“You know the preservation cavern?”

Bronya nodded, silently and Lynera closed her eyes.

“Just over a sweep ago… Daraya and I were on duty with the Mother Grub and there was an egg…” She swallowed heavily and squeezed Bronya’s hand. “It was… it was a fuschia egg.”

She could feel the tension in Bronya’s hand — the sudden realization of what was being said. And now Lynera couldn’t stop talking…

“We were going to do what we were supposed to! To follow the Empress’ orders and cull the egg before it even hatched but… I don’t know… we couldn’t do it! Because we were tired or because we were sick of the Empire or… _I don’t know!_ So we didn’t cull it! We took it and we hid it in the preservation cavern and we left it there. And we checked up on it and kept it safe until… I don’t know when!”

The tension didn’t let up — the sense that Bronya was reeling from what she was hearing. Lynera kept her eyes closed tightly, waiting for the moment when Bronya would scream at her or slap her or…

“Lynera…” her voice was soft. “You… you could be culled for that. Both of you. You _would_ be culled as soon as anyone found out. You know that, right?”

Lynera nodded. “I know.”

But Bronya didn’t say anything else — instead, she reached down and gently ran her hand along Lynera’s jaw. The motion continued — a sweep down to the chin and back to the corner of the jaw. Gentle back… and forth. And Lynera opened her eyes.

Lynera whimpered. “I didn’t want to cull the egg… I didn’t want to lose something so rare. And I didn’t care what the Empress said! I didn’t care because… because you nurture grubs you’re supposed to cull and that’s one of the reasons that I…” _Fell in love with you._ “One of the reasons I admire you so much! Because you think that things can be better than they are! You know that the Empire… the Empire isn’t just. The Empire is…” _Evil._ “...I don’t know, okay?!”

The motion along her jaw remained gentle. Bronya leaned over… and softly kissed her on the cheek.

“I… understand.”

Lynera felt a wave of confusion run through her — her head was spinning. She was prepared for a lot of things, but never for _I understand._

“You do?” Lynera reached up and grabbed Bronya’s wrist. “What are you talking about? I just told you I did something… something unforgivable. Why are you saying that?”

When Bronya spoke again, her voice was dark — and there was something behind it that Lynera didn’t think she’d ever heard before. “No. You did something natural — something compassionate. What’s unforgivable is asking us to kill every grub that might be sick, or injured, or different than what they’re supposed to be. What’s unforgivable is asking us to march forward to our deaths for an empire that doesn’t care about any of us. What’s unforgivable is sending all of us to our deaths so the Empress can conquer another star system.”

Her voice was shaking — Lynera had never heard that kind of fury before. Bronya knelt down closer and looked directly into Lynera’s eyes.

“I know it was hard to tell me this… because we’re not supposed to say anything about any of these kinds of things. But we’re also not supposed to… we’re not supposed to do any of what we’ve been doing. Not supposed to feel the way we do about each other. We’re not _supposed_ to do a lot of things but that doesn’t make it _right._ ” She leaned in and, without missing a beat, kissed Lynera quickly.

Lynera felt light-headed — everything she’d expected had been turned completely on its head. That seemed to be happening a lot lately.

Bronya’s face was set — and Lynera knew that look. The look of a woman who would move mountains for what she knew was right. The face of a woman who was sick of quiet, small defiance.

The face of a woman who was ready to tear everything to pieces if it kept them all safe.

“I love you and I’ll do anything I can to protect you. To protect these caverns. From the Empire… from the Empress herself if I need to.”


	29. Empty Cycle

the 6th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0210 AUT

Polypa had never considered what it would feel like to be a fly on the wall while the high bloods played their political games — it had never really interested her like it did with some of the teals she’d known through Tegiri. With everything that had been happening, she felt like it was better to stay ignorant. The curtain had been pulled back, and what was underneath… it was nothing to be proud of. There was no great secret behind the Alternian Empire… only a man willing to do anything to preserve it.

Shortly after arriving on the Iustitia, High Imperator Petrus had set up a command center in the ship’s bridge. The Commander in charge of the ship — a cerulean with an unusual third eye — had immediately seen the wisdom in letting the High Imperator have the run of the place, and so the bridge was sealed off, security personnel were assigned to guard the door, and only those approved by the High Imperator personally were allowed in.

For whatever it was worth, Polypa was one of those people. She noticed that the security system recognized her rank as Command Sergeant, so that was something to tell Tegiri about later. It didn’t change that she felt like she was one missed word away from being jettisoned out the airlock. Not because she’d done anything wrong yet, but because the High Imperator had no tolerance whatsoever for failure.

“Command Sergeant Goezee,” Imperator Petrus called from across the room and Polypa immediately went to his side. Without waiting for a response, he continued. “I need an updated sitrep on the situation in Everdim. I assume that Neophyte Entykk is still unaccounted for?”

It only took a minute for Polypa to pull up the latest report backs on her portable screen. “Yes, sir. Neophyte Entykk hasn’t reported in since they were spotted by the drone that captured Mallek Adalov. No reports since, and their service weapon was found at the site by the cleanup team that was sent out… along with the body of an olive blood identified as Charun Krojib.”

“Another rebel?” Imperator Petrus asked.

“No, sir. At least not that we know of — they were scheduled to ship out to Fleet maintenance in another perigee. No evidence of subversive activity in their file.” She checked through the record and saw another note at the bottom of the file. “Sir, it appears that Subjuggulator Xoloto has made some notes here. Would you like me to read them?”

The High Imperator sighed and shrugged. “Yes, Command Sergeant.”

“He recommends that Charun Korjib be posthumously awarded the rank of Specialist in the Fleet, assigned to the drone maintenance division. He further recommends that they receive an Imperial commendation for their bravery in attempting to apprehend the rebel leader Mallek Adalov.”

The High Imperator actually laughed at that — a dry, heavy sound that sent a shiver down Polypa’s back. “Oh, I’m getting quite sick of Marvus and his attempts to manufacture propaganda out of this.” He sighed and walked forward to the command console, leaning over and staring intently. “Speaking of which, what is the status of the prisoner?”

“The Subjuggulator has him held in the brig here on the Iustitia. According to the requisition files, he is putting together the necessary accommodations for a trial. He has ordered that the prisoner be left mostly intact in order to facilitate his trial.”

Another sigh from Imperator Petrus — a sound that spoke of untold ages. “Very well. I suppose I can’t stop the clowns from having their fun, can I? Especially not after the destruction of their flagship.” He shrugged. “Fine. I have other, more important matters to attend to. Command Sergeant — go fetch Inquisitor Gorjek for me.”

“Yes, High Imperator.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, Polypa returned to the bridge with Tagora Gorjek in tow. The teal blood grew increasingly agitated as they got closer to the bridge, and by the time they were both standing inside the bridge itself he looked like he was about to faint away. He was trying not to show it, but not very successfully.

“You summoned me, High Imperator,” Tagora stuttered out. Imperator Petrus turned and fixed him with a withering stare.

“Yes, Inquisitor Gorjek. I had some specific questions regarding two of your charges.” Tagora nodded and said nothing — the High Imperator continued. “Specifically, I wish to know why Neophyte Entykk has not yet checked in and why Initiate Sezyat walked away from her post this past morning along with Specialist Koriga. Do you, perhaps, have some leaks in your ship which require plugging?”

Tagora stammered and started to respond, but The High Imperator held up a hand sharply.

“Don’t waste my time with excuses or lies, Inquisitor. I just need the simple truth.”

Tagora nodded and swallowed harshly… and this hurt to watch. “Yes, High Imperator. We were unaware of any subversive tendencies in either of those two — as far as we knew they were dedicated and loyal members of the Legiscorpus. Other than their connection as matesprits, I can’t see why this happened.”

High Imperator Petrus narrowed his eyes. “Very well… it’s of no particular consequence at the moment. I’m working under the assumption that they have betrayed their Empire, and you will do so as well. If you locate them, you are to kill them on site.”

Tagora nodded nervously and looked like he _really_ wanted to be anywhere else, but Polypa could tell that the High Imperator had something else to say.

“Provide details on the upcoming trial of Mallek Adalov,” he commanded. Tagora nodded quickly and shuffled his feet back.

“Yes, High Imperator! We should be ready inside of four cycles. Subjuggulator Xoloto has insisted on holding the trial on board the Iustitia. He has further insisted that the prisoner not be harmed so as to make the most of their public trial.”

There was no response — and Polypa could see the sweat beading on Tagora’s forehead as he waited. Finally, with a tiny voice, Tagora spoke again. “High Imperator… should I… should I report back if I have additional information on Neophyte Entykk or Initiate Sezyat?”

She half expected Imperator Petrus to kill him on the spot, but instead he just laughed — that same unbearable sound as before. “No. I don’t care about them. I do, however, want to speak to the prisoner.”

“Sir… M-Malek?” Tagora flinched. “Sir, the Subjuggulator—”

“I don’t care what the clown said. I’m asking you to go down to the brig and have some guards bring the prisoner so I can speak to him. It’s quite a simple assignment, Inquisitor.”

Tagora nodded and quickly scuttled away… and Polypa turned back to her duties and tried to be as invisible as possible.

* * *

Another twenty minutes and the door to the bridge once more hissed open — this time revealing two burly rust blood guards hauling a restrained Mallek Adalov between them. Tagora was trailing behind, looking just as nervous as ever. He smiled anxiously at Polypa, then turned to the High Imperator.

“High Imperator,” he said cautiously, “I’ve brought the prisoner as requested.”

“Yes. You may wait outside.” As Tagora scurried out the door, Imperator Petrus turned to the guards holding Mallek. “Let him go. He is no threat to me right now.” They dropped Mallek to the floor and Imperator Petrus stepped closer to him. He didn’t put a hand on Mallek — didn’t even get close enough to put a hand on him. Instead, he looked down at Mallek and nodded.

“Mallek Adalov. The one that Subbjugulator Xoloto thinks is the rebel leader.” The High Imperator must have seen something in Mallek’s face, because he shook his head and held up a hand. “No, don’t say anything. It’s a ridiculous thing to think — you’re obviously involved in the rebellion… but the idea that you had the ability to coordinate two precise attacks is absurd. Even the Subjuggulator doesn’t believe it.” Imperator Petrus narrowed his eyes. “However… I think that you know more than you’re letting on.”

Imperator Petrus bent over to look Mallek in the eyes. “I’m not going to waste time — I believe you know where the rebels are operating out of. I assume it’s somewhere in or around Everdim, given the events of the past few cycles. But you’re going to tell me where they are specifically so I can deploy troops to capture and kill your compatriots.”

This time, Mallek actually _laughed_ at him. He threw back his head and laughed up at the ceiling. “Oh? I’m going to tell you that? Fucking _really?!_ Kiss my bulge, you violet son of a shit. I’m not going to give anyone up.”

“This is not a request — you will have only one chance to make your decision.” The High Imperator’s voice was low… and even though Mallek was still laughing at him, Polypa felt a creeping dread in her stomach. Something was very wrong.

“What are you gonna do? Fucking _torture_ me? Kill me? Fucking… do your worst. I don’t even give a _fuck_ anymore.” He spat down at the floor in front of the High Imperator’s feet.

“No.” His voice was utterly impassive — this was just another day for him. “I’m not going to lay a finger on you, and I will ensure you are unharmed. However, if you do not provide me with the specific location of your friends, I will reduce the City of Everdim and its general surroundings to glass.”

Mallek wasn’t laughing anymore. He looked in the High Imperator’s face — a face that had seen so many sweeps of endless war. A face that had looked on as the forces he commanded laid waste to towns… cities… continents… entire worlds. If there was something in that face that spoke of warmth or comfort, it had died long ago.

“You wouldn’t do that…” Mallek whispered — at this point it seemed like he was mostly just going through the motions.

“Mr. Adalov… my only concern is the security and integrity of this Empire. Cities can be rebuilt or re-founded… our Empire cannot. I will give you a half-cycle to make your decision. I believe this is more than fair.” He didn’t say anything else to Mallek. Instead, he turned to Polypa and she felt her blood turn to ice. “Command Sergeant Goezee… please ensure that this rebel is returned safely to his cell. After that, you may consider yourself off-shift until your next duty cycle.”

“Yes, High Imperator,” Polypa said, feeling her body growing numb as she said it. “Guards… take the prisoner.”

On the other side of the door, Tagora was still standing in the hallway looking nervous. He looked up as soon as the door hissed open. As soon as it closed, he took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak. Polypa fixed him with a dead stare and shook her head — it was enough to convey the message.

She escorted Mallek back to his cell in silence.

* * *

Back in the quarters that had been provided for her, Polypa sat back on one of the reclining couches that were commonly used by officers and senior command staff. It was comfortable — the quarters were comfortable. Everything was, materially, fine at the moment. She couldn’t expect much better out of her military service — especially since she now held a rank typically reserved for teals or jades… and a position that would typically be reserved for a cerulean or indigo blood.

Everything was, materially, fine…

She took the palmhusk from her pocket.

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0331 AUT

Polypa

i know it’s early * can you please make time for me? *|   
i wouldn’t ask * if it wasn’t important *|

Tegiri

Why, what makes you think I wou/dn’t have time for you?   
I am nothing if not a supportive and caring moirai/.

Polypa

you actually really are * i appreciate that a lot *|   
but i have something serious *|   
something you can’t tell anyone *|   
you have to promise *|

Tegiri

On every shred of honor and dignity I have, I promise that wi// not share a word of what we discuss here. You have it on our /ongstanding re/ationship as moirai/s, friends, and fe//ow so/diers.

Polypa

okay that’s pretty fucking serious *|   
i need to tell someone this * or i’m going to lose my fucking mind *|

do you know who i’m working for? *|   
i mean * right now *|

Tegiri

I don’t be/ieve that you’ve to/d me. Why do you ask?

Polypa

i’ve been assigned as executive officer * to the high imperator *|

Tegiri

Wait, what?! Are you serious?! I thought you were working for the Subjuggu/ator.

Polypa

no * i got reassigned * i guess he liked me? *|   
but…

Tegiri

What troub/es you?

Polypa

he’s going after the rebels *|   
they captured one * the imperator threatened him *|   
tegiri * if he doesn’t give up his friends * the high imperator is going to glass the city *|   
everdim * there’s a million trolls living there *|

have you ever realized * that you’re a part of something monstrous? *|   
how do you live with yourself? *|   
how do you keep from going insane? *|

Tegiri

...

Polypa

you know what * never mind *|   
i can’t put this on you * no matter what quadrant we’re in *|

Tegiri

Po/ypa…   
What are you suggesting you want to do?

Polypa

i don’t know * i can’t let this happen *|   
if i can convince him to give them up * it’ll save those people *|   
but he won’t give up his friends * because he doesn’t quite believe the imperator *|   
but i saw his eyes * he’s not bluffing *|   
he’ll kill everyone in that city to stop a rebellion *|

Tegiri

In my time knowing you, I’ve known you to be nothing but honorab/e and just. As much as you possib/y can be under the circumstances. You fight, but you understand that sometimes there is a greater purpose.

I’m not suggesting you do anything specific. But if you were to choose a certain course of action… a particu/ar path forward which might be seen by some as, perhaps, i//-advised…

I wou/d support you. With a// of my heart and sou/.

Polypa

tegiri… *|   
thank you *|   
i can’t say how much this means *|

Tegiri

Nonsense. You wou/d do the same for me without a second’s hesitation. We share a bond that runs deep and strong — a bond that transcends the shack/es of this waking wor/d.

Polypa

again * thank you *|   
i care about you a lot * you know that, right? *|

Tegiri

Forever and a/ways. I care about you as we//.

Putting the palmhusk away in her pocket, Polypa stood up, hearing the quick pop of her joints as she stretched. As quickly as she could, she put back on her uniform top and made sure she had her identification. Taking a deep breath, she mentally steeled herself for what lay ahead… and she set off towards the brig.


	30. The Down Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter contains a brief discussion of sexual assault and abuse.

the 5th day…

The Hidden City, South Alternia - 0339 local time (1839 AUT)

They didn’t have that many recupercoons in the once-abandoned city under Everdim, so Chixie was given a room with a pile and told that, sorry, she would have to make due as best she could. The result was hours spent lying on her back in the pile, staring up at the ceiling and wondering why she was even there in the first place.

One, around one in the evening, she managed to drift off to sleep. It lasted maybe a half hour before a nightmare woke her up — the feeling of an impact to her mouth that time she’d made the mistake of talking back to him… her punishment for daring to refuse him and have an opinion of her own. After that, she was up for the rest of the day. Instead of trying to keep lying on the pile in her own frustration, Chixie rolled off and pushed herself to her feet.

The room she was in was basic — a converted attic room in the library that had once been used for storage. It didn’t have much in the way of furnishings — just the pile in one corner and a desk with no chair that looked like it was about to collapse under its own weight. It was, in all possible senses of the word, the bare minimum.

And she gladly welcomed it over her old life. At least over what her life had become since she met Zebruh. She’s been disappointed to hear that he had survived what she did to him, but it still brought her no small degree of satisfaction to hear that he was hospitalized because of it. With any luck, he might still be fatally wounded and it was just taking time to kill him. It was an absolutely baseless assumption, but it was one that brought her comfort to think on all the same.

Groaning to herself and grabbing her sweater from the desk, Chixie looked around the room again. She took her palmhusk from the desk as well and quickly unlocked it… and stared down at the last message she’d gotten from Mallek. At this point, she was pretty sure it would be the last one. She knew that he hadn’t been killed by the Empire… but being captured to be put on trial might as well be a death sentence. She’d heard of a few people who’d been taken, and none of them were ever seen again.

Chixie pulled her sweater over her head quickly and stretched, feeling the ache inside of her muscles. Fighting back against Zebruh had been cathartic, but it had also taken a lot out of her. She needed to sleep — needed some actual rest on top of everything… but that didn’t feel like a particularly realistic possibility at this point. Instead, Chixie mumbled to herself about heading out for some air, laughed at her own joke, and then stepped out of the room to wander around this city under a city.

* * *

Down the stairs in the library, in the main foyer that had been turned into a command center, Chixie saw that she wasn’t the only one who was having trouble sleeping. Cirava was there, sitting with their back up against a support column and holding a guitar in their lap, playing quietly. Nearby, standing in a lean against the wall, was Elwurd. When Chixie came down the stairs, Cirava looked up briefly and nodded before resuming their playing. Elwurd pushed herself away from the wall and walked over, smiling.

“Well, hello there,” she said quietly. “Come to join the no-sleep club?” She winked at Chixie, who smiled back nervously.

“I guess so. I can’t… I can’t sleep after…” She didn’t want to finish the sentence — didn’t want to think back on everything that’d happened. It was, she thought, the surest path to making it painfully real in a way that she couldn’t possibly ignore. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she knew that she’d be asked… 

But Elwurd didn’t push the issue. Instead, she shrugged and motioned for Chixie to sit next to her on a long table that looked like it was in the library when Elysia was wiped out. Grateful not to have to rehash the same trauma again, she nodded enthusiastically and the two of them sat next to each other.

“I’ve been to a bunch of your shows, y’know?” Elwurd said, keeping her voice low. “Always a good time. I mean… the underground shows, mostly. Those’re the best ones. And… you were the Mask too, weren’t you?”

Chixie felt her heart jump, but Elwurd seemed to see it on her face and smiled. “Relax — your secret is safe with me. Although you might want a mask that covers your horns and maybe change outfits if you want that secret to stay safe.”

She blushed. “Well… I don’t know that I’ll be able to go back to that. Or anything, really.”

Elwurd nodded. “Yeah… I know about what happened. I’m sorry… if you don’t want to talk about it, I’m not gonna push things.”

“I’d kinda rather not, yeah,” Chixie responded. And, true to her word, Elwurd sat in silence, smiling slightly, and didn’t keep trying to pressure her to answer.

After a while, Chixie couldn’t help herself — she spoke up again — “Hey, so… what’s your deal in any of this?”

“What do you mean?” Elwurd asked, turning to face Chixie. “You mean, like, why am I here right now?”

“Sure,” Chixie shrugged. “Why are you here? Why did you go to my shows? Why involve yourself in any of this. You’re a cerulean… you could probably get a deferral and then a nice assignment offworld bossing other folks around.”

She nodded. “Sure, that’s true. In fact, I’ve been two sweeps past my own ascension… and no one gives two shits about it, because of my blood. If you tried to pull that shit they’d cull you for sure.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Elwurd shrugged. “I guess… because I don’t like how things are right now. I mean, I’m not a gushing blood pusher type but also… I…” She looked down at her hands and Chixie saw something cross her face that was hard to place. “I don’t like feeling powerless. I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control anymore, and I guess… maybe the way things are is kinda shit, right?” She shrugged again and leaned forward. “Look at me being open with my feelings and shit… someone once told me I needed to be more emotionally available.”

Chixie felt like she was missing a large chunk of the context for Elwurd’s comment, but _could_ understand feeling powerless. She leaned forward as well, matching Elwurd posture.

“My whole life has been feeling powerless. Knowing that one day I’d have to go offworld. Knowing that, whatever I did, it wouldn’t matter. I’d end up in the same position no matter how loudly I screamed about it… so…” She wiped her eyes. _When did I start crying?_

Elwurd was looking at her, but not saying anything. And, whatever issues she might’ve had with emotions, she seemed to be perfectly attentive to what Chixie was saying.

Chixie cleared her throat and sniffled loudly. “So I ended up getting together with someone that said he could help me out. If I went red with him, he’d make sure to help me out… he’d promote my music and help get me an exception from service and all I had to do was…” She felt like retching at the thought of it.

“I take it that he wasn’t…” The look on her face said that she was looking for the words. “He wasn’t good to you, was he?”

“No!” She didn’t mean to say it as loud as she did, but it just came out like that. “He was cruel and mean… he kept doing this weird pitch-flip thing but also… he hurt me. Hit me a couple times and… he kept pushing me to do stuff with him that I didn’t want to do. Kept acting like because we were in a quadrant together that he could just do whatever the fuck he wanted with me… whether I said it was okay or not!” Her voice was rising in volume again and Chixie quickly took a deep breath to try to steady herself. Whether or not she’d gone in expected to talk about any of this, it was all coming out now.

“I’m sorry,” Elwurd said, and her voice had a sincerity to it that Chixie hadn’t heard at the start of the conversation. “I’d never been in that kind of situation but… it sounds rough.”

Chixie nodded vigorously. “Of course it was fucking rough! That bastard kept… he kept touching me in ways I didn’t want him to… ways I didn’t want _anyone_ to touch me. And every time I complained he kept acting like he had no idea why I was so upset. Then he’d imply that if he had to leave, then I’d end up in the service and…”

Chixie let out a single, long whimper. “And they’d kill my lusus and she’s been with me since I was a tiny wiggler! So I kept doing the things he wanted and listening to him because I really believed him. After all… he’d been on-world past his own ascension so he must know what he was talking about, right?” Her voice was laced with disgust.

“He was lying to you,” Elwurd said — and her voice was soft and kind now. More so than she had seemed capable of before. “There are no exemptions and there’s no deferrals. People think that… sometimes it takes a sweep or so before the drones or the recruiting gang comes around but… the only way to get out of your service requirement is to be a high blood and just kind of never do it. They won’t ask questions if you’re a cerulean or an indigo… and things might get backed up sometimes, but…” She shook her head.

She wanted to scream — wanted to take something and throw it across the room. Wanted to bash Zebruh’s head in again and again until he wouldn’t get up from it. In her heart, she thought at least part of her knew that he was lying, but a larger part kept hoping that maybe he wasn’t. That maybe things would get better if she just stuck it out for long enough.

He was just lying to her. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it still hurt so much.

“I… he said that he’d be able to make sure that Squirrelmom didn’t get killed. To make sure I’d be okay. I wanted to… I didn’t want to do any of what he…” Chixie felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach — she leaned forward against her knees and struggled against the feeling of bile in her stomach. “I kept telling myself it’d be worth it one day and… it was all a lie.”

Elwurd leaned forward next to her and looked over, and the look of sarcastic joking that she always seemed to have on her face had completely vanished. “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. You didn’t deserve that…”

Without thinking twice about what she was doing, Chixie leaned over and hugged Elwurd tightly. Elwurd let out a surprised noise, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she reached out and patted Chixie gently on the back and muttered — “It’s… it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay because it fucking sucks!” Chixie mumbled into Elwurd’s shoulder. “First person I told I wasn’t interested in red or pitch they said I was lying and just trying to play hard to get. Zebruh just acted like it didn’t fucking matter — like I was just a stupid joke of a person to him. But I’m not a joke and I’m not a wiggler or something… and… there’s so many people out there that folks can get into a concupiscent quadrant with and I don’t understand why the hell it has to always be _me!_ ”

She wasn’t trying to be this way — was, in fact, trying desperately _not_ to sob into the shoulder of a woman who she only knew in a very tangential way… but her efforts were for nothing. She was, in fact, shaking heavily and leaning heavily on Elwurd. To her credit, Elwurd seemed to be taking it in stride.

“You…” she sighed — “You don’t _have_ to do that. I know it’s a lot but… you deserve better than that. I don’t know you well but I’ve seen you up on stage and I’ve heard the kind of energy you have. You think that this whole garbage hole of a planet can be more than it is. I guess…” she paused, thinking for a moment. “I guess I respect that.”

“Thanks,” she murmured. And she squeezed Elwurd gently and then let go, sitting up straight again. She didn’t think that crying onto a near-stranger you were in the middle of hugging for dear life was what she needed…

_But apparently it was. I feel…_

“I feel a little bit better,” Chixie said softly. “I’m gonna try to go back to bed, okay? Thanks for letting me ramble.” With a small smile, Chixie stood up to head back to the room she’d be assigned.

As she walked up the stairs, back towards the attic room, she turned around. And she could see Elwurd watching her, propping her head on an arm and smiling.


	31. The Shock of Being Known

the 6th night…

The Hidden City, South Alternia - 0541 local time (2041 AUT)

The pile they’d been given wasn’t the most comfortable option… but it _was_ in a private room and it _was_ clean. And right then, that was about all Tyzias was looking for. When she and Stelsa finished talking to Daraya and the others, they excused themselves with the stated intent of finally getting some sleep after everything. That seemed like a reasonable enough goal.

As soon as the door was closed and latched, Stelsa was basically on top of her. She wasn’t ready for the sheer _intensity_ of that first kiss… but she wasn’t going to shy away from it either. Tyzias closed her eyes and let that feeling wash over her.

_This is nice._

Stelsa pulled back, and her voice was low and thick with worry. “Zizi… I thought you’d end up dead.”

“No, not a chance. You think I’m that easy to kill?” She chuckled. And Stelsa kissed her again, letting it linger in a way that stuck around even after it left her lips.

“Stop.”

Tyzias opened her eyes — and saw tears in Stelsa’s eyes. “Stop what?”

“Stop acting like everything’s fine. Stop acting like you’re fine. For fuck’s sake I… the pitch flirting thing is _fun,_ Zizi but… now I can’t do that, okay?”

Tyzias was about to respond — was about to say something when she really _looked_ into Stelsa’s eyes. Behind the watery glisten of the tears, there was something else. Something deeply unpleasant to see… a deep, existential terror. Tyzias stayed quiet… and she finally let everything sink in.

Her voice was quiet — “Okay. I’m sorry, Stels. I was… I was…” She took a deep breath and reached out to take Stelsa’s hands. Their fingers wove together and she squeezed softly. She could feel Stelsa’s pulse faintly. Tyzias closed her eyes again. “I’ve been trying to keep everything at a distance because this is terrifying. And I’ve been acting like you’ll just handle things the same way but… you’re not me. So… I’m sorry.”

With a brief brush of a breeze, the space between them shrank to nothing as Stelsa stepped in and pressed her forehead against Tyzias’. She let out a low sigh and drew Tyzias in closer, pressing their bodies together.

“Thank you for saying that. I forgive you.”

Tyzias could feel her pulse.

“Thanks… I love you, Stels.” Tyzias’ face was getting hot as the teal flush spread throughout.

“And I love you too, Zizi. Always.” She leaned in to kiss Tyzias quickly and then went back to pressing against her forehead. “For a long time, actually.”

There was a swell in her chest when she heard that. In spite of everything, she still had this one small thing… this one port of call in an ocean of darkness and fear. Maybe that wasn’t worth very much, but it was definitely worth _something._ What happened in the evening was always an uncertainty at this point, but in that moment it didn’t matter.

It occurred to Tyzias, not for the first time in her life, that the barrier between them at this point consisted solely of two thin layers of cloth. She kept blushing as she let go of Stelsa’s hands and wrapped her arms around her matesprit’s waist.

“I want you. Right now.” Tyzias could barely believe that the words were coming out of her mouth, much less the desperate tone she said them in. It didn’t matter — she’d come close enough to dying more than once, and that had a way of shifting your perspective.

She felt Stelsa’s hands on her… Tyzias let out a small yelp of surprise and heard Stelsa giggle. “You’re the one who said it, Zizi.”

Two thin layers of cloth. That was it.

* * *

Eventually, they’d ended up on the pile together… and when everything was said and done, they held each other close and began to drift.

_Nothing at all between us._

It was her last waking thought before Tyzias finally fell asleep, cradled in the arms of the matesprit that she would walk through hell for.

They had ended up sleeping for a while, eventually. Not having the sopor normally made it more difficult to rest comfortably, but the afterglow of what they’d done before had helped. Tyzias had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep. When she woke again, Stelsa was still holding her and snoring lightly.

Tyzias smiled to herself and just lay there awake. Instead of thinking of anything in particular, she let herself float in the sensations of the moment. The feeling of Stelsa’s bare skin against her own and the way that her body heat kept her pleasantly warm on top of the pile. The gentle smell of faded perfume mixed with a slightly-acrid tang of sweat… the smell of what they’d been doing together before they fell asleep. Tyzias blushed and shifted herself against Stelsa, snuggling in closer and leaning her head against Stelsa’s chest.

_If it stayed like this, maybe life wouldn’t be so bad._

It was a nice thought, but one that she couldn’t hold onto. Tyzias wondered what time it was — it felt like they’d been sleeping for hours, but it was hard to place the time while they were underground and her palmhusk was in a pair of pants that had been abandoned a few feet from the pile. How many hours did they have before something else happened? It wasn’t like either the rebellion or the Alternian Empire were just going to suddenly stop what they were doing.

The uncertainty was creeping back in, despite the temporary comfort that she’d found with Stelsa. No matter how much they cared about each other — and she was fully aware of how deep Stelsa’s feelings ran — they would always be under the same thumb. Either as subjects of the Empire or as rebels constantly on the run.

Tyzias sighed and ran her fingers through Stelsa’s hair, tracing her way up to the base of her horns and smiling softly. _I wonder how she feels about all of this._

There was a time when Tyzias had seriously entertained the ideas that the Signless and the Summoner had fought and died for. A time when, maybe, she would’ve fallen fully into the idea of rebellion. And then she boxed that up and put it away in favor of the vague hope that she could make things better from inside. Maybe if she were able to make small changes, those would begin to shift things in a way that helped at least a few people. She’d been hopeful, in spite of everything she’d seen.

Because, for the most part, life in Alternian orbit was boring. Free from the constant wars of conquest that raged throughout the galaxy and the microcosms of that conflict that were always boiling on the planet. Life as a member of the Legiscorpus was a lot of routine and a lot of administrative tedium. Tyzias was okay with that — she had her matesprit and they were able to spend a lot of time together.

And then the world had exploded into fire, and now she wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She leaned in and kissed Stelsa on the neck. It was enough to bring her close to waking — Stelsa shifted and smiled in her half-sleep and murmured something softly that Tyzias couldn’t understand.

“Love you,” Tyzias whispered.

And Stelsa must’ve been more awake than she thought, because she whispered right back — “I love you too.”

Tyzias closed her eyes and smiled. And the thoughts kept coming up, no matter what. She wasn’t getting back to sleep, and even the pleasantries of her current situation weren’t going to stop her mind from turning these things over and over.

What Daraya had told them still didn’t feel _real._ The Empress… she had specifically ordered that no fuschia blood eggs or grubs were to be allowed to live. The secret that Daraya was hiding was enough to get their entire cavern wiped from Alternia with an orbital strike. Tyzias wasn’t even sure what their end goal was… or if they even had one. When she talked about it, Daraya didn’t seem to know either.

Tyzias liked Daraya — she seemed level-headed and intelligent — but it was probably one of those singularly stupid things that she could do. And if the rebels knew about it… what would Galekh try to even _do_ with that information? It wasn’t like they could use it as leverage against the Empire — not with Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty and the High Imperator at the top.

“What’re you thinking about?” Stelsa’s voice was still sleepy. Tyzias shrugged.

“Honestly? How screwed we might all be.” She heard Stelsa sigh as this.

“I know… Zizi, I don’t even know what we’re supposed to do next. It feels like everything’s hanging by a thread and it’s about to come crashing down.”

She was right, even if Tyzias absolutely didn’t want to admit it. She would much rather be in a situation where they had some control — where the rebels were more evenly matched against the Empire. But that wasn’t the world that they were living in, and no amount of hoping or wishing would change that essential fact.

“Yeah, I wish I could say—” Tyzias didn’t get to finish the sentence. From the pants on the floor, her palmhusk let out a sharp tone. The “emergency use only” tone that supervisors could use to make sure she paid attention. Her blood pusher jumped and she half-rolled to the edge of the pile. “God damn it… I forgot to block Gor-gor’s fucking contact…”

She reached out and managed to grab one leg of the pants and pull them in closer. Fishing the phone out of the pocket, she was about to block Tagora when she saw two things.

It was already well past midnight — they’d been asleep for longer than she thought.

Tagora had sent several messages.

Tyzias began to read.

bettercallgorgor began chatting with ferventnihilist at 1315 AST (0415 AUT)

Tagora

Listen to me you dumbass because I don’t have a lot of time up here.   
I’m putting myself at a lot of risk to do this. *_________

I guess it doesn’t fucking matter if I tell you I’ve been sending a few hints to Galekh now and then. Just a little information here and there. Is it technically “high treason?” Sure, if you want to put a LABEL on it. *_________

Tagora

It doesn’t matter. Point is that my kismesis got himself in way over his head and he needs all the help he can get. I think you could probably empathize… or maybe I should be saying that to Stelsa? Whatever. *_________

Point is that we both know this Empire won’t stop until it reduces the rebel hideout to rubble and kills every one of them, and they won’t let anything silly like “a million Alternian lives” stop them. You’ve met the High Imperator. *_________

They’re got your friend up here… the clown want to do some stupid trial, but the Imperator just wants to fucking bomb the city. *_________

Tagora

Look, it’s a long fucking story but the short version is…   
  
You’ve got about two hours to get your shit in gear and get the hell out of that city before you’re all dead. *_________

Tyzias felt her blood running cold. The fact that Tagora had apparently been helping the rebels, even if it was only in a very tertiary way, barely even registered. All of a sudden, it felt like the thread had snapped. They were falling.

“Stels… we need to get dressed. Right now.”


	32. Broken Thread

the 6th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0342 AUT

Polypa strode into the brig like she was supposed to be there — that was usually the surest way to keep anyone from asking questions. Fortunately, she technically had clearance to be there, but there were certain details of what she was doing that she didn’t want a record of… just in case this ever blew up in her face.

The entrance to the brig area was guarded by a bored-looking rust blood. He didn’t look all that enthusiastic to be there, but Polypa knew that he also had an assault carbine behind the desk and orders to use it if anything seemed even a little bit suspicious. Polypa walked up to the desk and put on her most authoritative Sergeant’s face.

“Specialist — I need to speak with the prisoner,” she leaned forward and glared at him. “Also, I need this kept off the books and off the cameras. This is on the High Imperator’s orders.”

The gold blood swallowed nervously — the mention of the High Imperator had that effect on people. Probably the only real advantage of working for him was being able to use that to her advantage. The gold blood hastily began to flip off the controls for the security cameras. He didn’t bother to write any of this in his log book.

_I’m probably gonna die for this._ But that seemed worth it — to save a million lives at the risk of her own. She’d never been under any real delusion that being in the Army meant saving people or defending Alternia. Defending it from what? From Alternian Colonists who wanted offworld as fast as possible? From alien races that the Empress “discovered” and then annihilated? And she knew that the new Empress was just as bad.

“Okay, ma’am — I’ve set everything up and given your keycard access to the cell. I can give you ten minutes before someone starts wondering why the cameras are down for so long. Is that enough?”

She shrugged, trying to stay as casually imposing as possible. “It’ll have to do, Specialist.”

Without another look at the gold blood, Polypa walked through the now-unlocked door to the brig and down to the end of the hall. Talking a deep breath and steadying herself, Polypa swiped her card and listened for the soft click of the lock disengaging. She held the handle.

_Last chance to be a good soldier of the glorious Alternian Empire._

_Fuck it._

She opened the door. Inside, Mallek was seated on the bare slab of a bed that sat in the corner. The cell had been specifically designed to provide as little comfort as possible, along with providing no opportunity to use any pieces of it for escape or attacking the guards. To call it “austere” would be doing a disservice to just how barren the cell really was.

Mallek looked up from where he sat, his face looking hollowed out.

“Oh…” was all he said. Polypa stepped inside and closed the cell door behind her. Mallek smiled in a way that suggested nothing but hurt. “Is this the part where Petrus goes back on his word and has me tortured? I’ve heard some interesting things about the methods the Legislacerators use.”

Polypa glanced up at the camera nervously. It didn’t have an audio feed, but she still desperately hoped that the gold blood had actually done what he said.

“You’re quiet,” Mallek said. “Is that supposed to be intimidating or are you actually having second thoughts about this?”

She growled at him. “You shut the fuck up! You don’t know anything about me or my life, so stop acting so fucking smug.” She took a deep breath and stepped closer to him. “I’m not here to fucking interrogate you and I could be killed for what I’m doing here.”

Mallek raised a pierced eyebrow. “Oh? Are you here to rescue me? Is that the big plan? You’re secretly working for Galekh and whatever fucking nonsense he’s got going on?”

“No, I’m not part of your rebellion, and I don’t care about whoever the fuck Galekh is,” she snarled. “I’m here to save a million fucking people.”

He looked at her like this didn’t make a bit of sense, and Polypa felt the urge to hit him… right across his stupid, cerulean face. He might make pretensions of being a part of the rebellion, but he was so far from understanding what it was like for most Alternians just to get through the day. But to his credit, he didn’t laugh at her right away.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What the fuck are you suggesting?”

“You tell them where the fuck your friends are hiding.”

Mallek’s eyes grew wide. “What? No! Petrus will kill every one of them!”

It took everything she had not to punch him. “You fucking idiot! If you don’t tell him, he’s going to bomb that city until there’s no chance of anyone surviving. That’ll include your goddamn friends… along with more innocent people than you can count.”

He shook his head. “That’s absurd. He’s bluffing.”

_He’s a fucking idiot._

“No, he’s not. Give him something meaningful or he’s going to kill a lot of people.”

She could see Mallek starting to shake — and she almost would’ve felt bad for him if the stakes weren’t so incredibly high. “I… I can’t do this…” He looked like he was about to break down.

“I’m not an idiot, you jackass…” Polypa glared at him. “I’ve got a plan for getting your friends out of there.”

That got his attention. “What? What brilliant plan is gonna get them away from the fucking High Imperator?”

“I know you have some way of getting information from this ship out.” As soon as she said it, she saw him freeze. And that confirmed it. “Maybe Legiscorpus wants to pretend that they don’t have any leaks, but there’s no way that those attacks could be so well-coordinated without having people on the inside who’re talking to each other.”

Mallek sat for a minute, his brow furrowed. “I… I mean I guess so.”

She groaned — this was maddening. “I don’t have time for you to ponder this shit out. Let me know everything you know right the fuck now so I can figure this shit out. We’ve only got a few minutes before the cameras come back on and everyone starts wondering what the fuck we’re talking about.”

“Okay, fine!” Mallek snapped. “I don’t know much… I’d guess there’s someone in Legiscorpus.” He stopped and thought for a minute. “Fuck, yeah, of course. Galekh’s got a kismesis who works here, and he’s a fucking supervisor in the investigative division. I’ll bet if you checked, he’s the one assigned to those two Legiscorpus teals that ended up caught up in all of this. I bet that wasn’t a coincidence.”

“Great, that’s as good as it’s gonna get. What’s his name?”

Mallek closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his forehead. “Shit… uh… something with a _T._ Talora or Tagera or something like that. All I know from Galekh is he’s kind of an asshole, but I guess that’s a good thing? Fucking… I dunno. Figure it out.”

“Fine, it’ll have to do. Now give me the coordinates.”

* * *

Polypa made a quick detour to her quarters to grab her portable screen, and a quick check of the teal roster showed a _Tagora Gorjek_ who was, in fact, assigned as the supervisor for two Legiscorpus members who were on assignment. Tyzias Entykk and Stelsa Sezyat… and Mallek was right because none of that felt like a coincidence.

That part of the plan would have to wait, because the first part was important to get underway. The longer the High Imperator had to prep to bomb the entire city, the more likely he was to just go ahead and do it out of some kind of genocidal level of spite. Polypa was under no illusions that the man was even a little bit reasonable, but she was hoping that she could at least minimize the damage. If she acted quickly, he’d probably switch to a ground strike team and then hopefully the rebels could be warned in advance.

There would probably be consequences for doing that, but that was something Polypa had committed to dealing with later. She would handle the fallout as it happened, but the important thing was that a million Alternians wasn’t a worthwhile trade for a handful of rebels.

Polypa stopped in the corridor that led to the command center. Before she talked to the High Imperator, she had one person she needed to talk to first.

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0404 AUT

Polypa

i don’t have time * so please be there *|

Tegiri

I am. To what do I owe the p/easure of another conversation so soon?

Polypa

you’re such a dork * i’m gonna miss you * if this doesn’t work *|   
tegiri * i’m so sorry for this * but i might be in a lot of trouble soon *|

Tegiri

Is this perchance re/ated to the unspecified right thing you discussed in our ear/ier conversation?

Polypa

yeah * it’s about that *|

Tegiri

I reiterate that I trust your judgement in a// matters without question. You have never struck me as an impu/sive or foo/hardy individua/.

Polypa

you’re so full of shit * but * thanks *|   
i know you mean that *|

Tegiri

Are we /ike/y to speak again? Or is this more of a fina/ message to one’s moirai/ before a g/orious death?

Polypa

depends on a lot of things * i think *|   
a lot of it i can’t control *|   
just wanted you to know * in case i don’t make it * that i care a lot about you *|

Tegiri

And I care a great dea/ about you as we//. If I ta/k to you again, I /ook forward to being rega/ed with the ta/es of your exp/oits.

And if not… then I wi// raise a g/ass to your memory and te// your story to everyone who might /isten.

Polypa

i don’t know how safe that’ll be * to be quite honest *|

Tegiri

Po/ypa, my /ife is an unending s/og of utter boredom and wi// /ike/y be unti/ I die. I wou/d we/come the chance for some excitement, no matter the outcome.   
  
Good /uck, and keep me in your thoughts as you trave/ on your righteous path.

Polypa

thanks * take care of yourself *|   
i’ll see you again * in this life or the next *|

It only took her a minute to finish the journey to the command center. The guards were still posted outside… so the High Imperator was likely still there. Polypa wasn’t sure if he even slept. The guards nodded at her and let her in right away — after all, why wouldn’t they?

Sure enough, the High Imperator was leaning over the command console and studying something on the screen. Most likely, it was planning for the upcoming bombing on the city. Polypa shuddered, careful not to let her body language tip the High Imperator off.

“Command Sergeant,” he said in a low voice. “You’re not due back on shift for several hours. What is it?”

“High Imperator… I’ve obtained the location of the rebellion base from the prisoner.”

Imperator Petrus looked up, his face impassive. “Really? You’re sure this is good information?”

“Yes, sir.”

The High Imperator hummed thoughtfully and tapped the console in front of him. “How did you manage that, exactly?”

“I appealed to his sense of justice… trade his friends for the lives of the people in the city. I convinced him you were serious.”

He nodded and a small, cold smile traced its way on his face. “I am, of course. I appreciate your dedication to this, Command Sergeant. Provide me with the coordinates and I will tell the bombing crews to adjust their munitions and target vectors accordingly.”

Polypa nodded — and her pusher was starting to race. “Sir, you don’t want to prepare a strike team? I can coordinate with them if needed.”

“There’s no need for all of that, Command Sergeant. While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I don’t need them alive… and this way will ensure their annihilation with minimal collateral damage to the city.”

Polypa was doing everything not to show any kind of response to this. A strike team could be contained. A strike team would hopefully encounter only an abandoned base of operations. A bombing would kill hundreds… thousands. _This isn’t what I wanted._

“Yes, sir.”

Imperator Petrus waved a hand dismissively. “You’re dismissed, Command Sergeant. Your continued service is appreciated.”

As soon as she was safely down the hallway and out of view of the guards, Polypa ran to go find Tagora Gorjek.

* * *

He was off-shift, but finding his quarters wasn’t difficult, given that everything was listed in her computer. She sprinted to the room and began pounding on the door. If she had to break the damn thing down, she would.

_Come on you dense fucker — this is important._

Polypa tapped her foot anxiously on the metal deck and kept hammering on the door. One way or the other, she was going to wake up Tagora Gorjek.

After a couple minutes, she heard someone moving behind the door, followed by a muffled voice — “Hold on… I’m coming. Who is it?”

“Command Sergeant Goezee. Open the fuck up, Gorjek. The High Imperator wants a word.” It wasn’t true, but it got him to open his door immediately — he was standing on the doorway with wide eyes. Polypa pushed her way inside without waiting for him to say another word, making sure to close the door behind her.

“What the hell’s going on?” There was fear in his voice. “What does the High Imperator need of me?”

“Shut the fuck up, Gorjek,” Polypa hissed. “I’m not actually here from Petrus.”

Tagora took a step back, confusion lighting up his face. “Then… what? What is this?”

“I don’t have time for your stupid shit. I know what you’ve been up to and who you’ve been sending information to. Next time maybe be a little more subtle than helping out your fucking kismesis.” She hadn’t been sure before, but the look on his face sealed it — Tagora was passing information to the rebels.

“I don’t know—”

“Shut your fucking mouth. You want your kismesis and their fucking friends to live to see another twilight, you get out your fucking palmhusk and you do exactly what I say.” She glared at him. “I hope you’ve got a way of warning someone down there, because they’re a couple hours from getting burned to the fucking ground.”


	33. Back and Forth

the 6th night…

The Hidden City, South Alternia - 1018 local time (0118 AUT)

Skylla hadn’t slept well — she didn’t really sleep well anymore. Not after everything that had happened with the Army and Ladyy and… she didn’t _want_ to think about it anymore. She didn’t _want_ to be up at all hours crying her eyes out and wishing she could go back to a life that was now long gone.

She wondered if the ranch was even still there. Maybe someone else had moved in there, or maybe it had just fallen into disrepair and abandonment. Skylla didn’t think she cared either way. The place had been a home once, but it wasn’t the physical space that made it that way. The one thing that had made it really home had been left bleeding out of a hole in her head by the recruitment drones.

The day had just been a long series of bad dreams, so Skylla got up when she got up — sometime in the late evening. Not wanting to be alone with her thoughts, she quickly dressed and walked down into the library’s main floor with the vague hope of running into someone that she could talk to for a while. Even if it was just passing the time, it’d be better than the alternative.

The only person downstairs when she arrived was the cerulean blood — Elwurd. She was sitting up against the wall, drinking coffee from a battered metal mug. She nodded to Skylla as the rust blood walked up.

“What’s up, rustie? You sleep good?” Skylla glared at her, and she shrugged. “Okay… sorry. You know they’ve got a whole damn mess hall down here? Not too far from the plaza. You want coffee?”

Skylla sighed and sat down heavily next to Elwurd. “No, I’m fine. Just tired of being by myself is all.”

Elwurd raised an eyebrow. “Really? I mean, I can help with that.” She looked up and down at Skylla. “Well, that’s _probably_ not what you mean, right?” She laughed.

Skylla rolled her eyes and leaned forward, tucking her knees up into her chest. “I’m not really in the mood for the jokes y’all tell.”

Elwurd leaned forward and turned to face Skylla. “Okay, I can respect that. You’re more of a heart-to-heart gal and I’ve been working on that about me, so… you wanna talk?”

“Fine,” Skylla said with a sigh. “Why not? Why talk to my moirail about this when I can open up to a near-stranger who probably mainly wants to, ‘cuse the language, fuck my brains out, given how she’s looking at me, generally speaking.”

Elwurd actually flushed a deep cobalt at that comment. “That’s not… that’s only… maybe a little bit, but you’re not supposed to _say it!_ ”

“I’m sorry, that was mean of me. I’m sure you’re perfectly nice and all that.”

“I mean, not really,” Elwurd shrugged. “I mostly just try to do what I can to get by and feel a little bit better on this shithole of a planet. I mean, I’m old enough I should’ve been offworld and… I dunno, join the fucking Fleet or something. I could probably be on my way toward being a ship’s commander, given this lovely hue of blue I am.” She stretched out her arms and looked at them for a minute.

“So why not, then?” Skylla asked. “Why not join the Fleet and order people around? It’s not like you’d be the one to have to die for it, after all. That job’s left to people like me, right?”

Elwurd looked… she actually looked hurt by the statement. “I don’t want that. I don’t _want_ to order people around or be responsible or anything else. I just want… mostly I just want to feel good. Is that such a bad goal? It’s not like I hurt anyone…” she trailed off and looked down quickly. “I mean… mostly.”

“I’m just touchy on account of losing my lusus is all,” Skylla said quietly. “I’m sure you’re a nice gal, and you’re pretty as all get-out.”

Elwurd laughed. “Oh, I’m pretty but I’m _not_ that nice.”

“Hoofbeast shit. I know a hurt liar when I see one.” Skylla took out her palmhusk and ignored the stammering response from Elwurd and she stared down at the screen.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 1027 AST (0127 AUT)

Skylla

YYou up and about?

Konyyl

Yeah, I’m on-shift in another couple hours though   
Fucking guard duty   
You believe that SHIT?

Skylla

YYeah… I guess so. YYou’re up on the Iustitia?

Konyyl

Yep   
Grubsitting a bunch of teals    
You doing okay?

Skylla

I did it. I walked awayy. From everyything, forever. I’m not going back.

Konyyl

Wait WHAT?!   
Are you fucking serious?

Skylla

YYes. Never been more serious. I’m alreadyy gone and I’d rather die than go back to that… to everyything.

Konyyl

...

Skylla

YYou’re not gonna tell me how stupid I’m being? How I’m a damn fool for going against the Empire and stepping out like that. How I’m just a wiggler still cryying over their lusus like a little grub mewling for some more dinner.

Konyyl

No   
I’m happy for you   
I wish I could do the same

Skylla

What?!

Konyyl

I’m happy for you   
There’s no honor or glory in fighting for the Empire   
I hate it here already   
I’ll just be watching empty hallways   
Just a little piece of the giant machine   
I fucking hate it

Skylla

Oh… well, shit. I’m sorryy. Do yyou need anyything specific from me… yyou know, like, pale-wise?

Konyyl

You’re already helping   
You think I talk about this stuff?   
Daja and I do sometimes but   
He’s more interested in the concupiscent side of things, you know   
So

Thanks   
For being there

Skylla

Are yy’all getting sappyy on me?

Konyyl

NO   
Say that again and I’ll fucking rip   
I dunno   
Fuck it I don’t care   
Just don’t tell anyone

Skylla

Moirail to moirail   
YYou got it

Konyyl

Yeah   
Fucking RIGHT

Stay safe, okay?   
I’d rather you and Daja stay alive

“Is that the moirail, then?” Elwurd said as Skylla put the palmhusk down. When Skylla scowled at her, Elwurd put up her hands. “I wasn’t peeking… just, looking at your face it’s pretty obvious.”

“And… why were you looking at my face so much?” Skylla asked. Part of her was annoyed, but there was another part that was… _Lonely, mostly._ That mostly just wanted to feel something other than misery for a little while.

“Maybe it’s because I want to fuck your brains out…” She winked. “As you so delicately put it.”

Skylla rolled her eyes and looked back to the palmhusk. But she didn’t want to keep bothering Konyyl and there was no one else she really talked to. That was her own damn fault for keeping to herself so much… but she’d never really thought about it before. Not until the drones came for her.

Skylla blew out a quick breath that caught a strand of hair that had drifted down into her eyes. “Okay, look, I said I was sorry for saying that.”

“Well, no, you didn’t, but I get it anyway.” Elwurd smirked at her. “I didn’t need an apology. My feelings don’t get hurt that easily.”

Skylla made a soft _hmm_ noise that suggested she didn’t believe her, and Elwurd laughed.

“Oh, yeah? You think you know my life, rustie?”

Skylla shrugged. “I don’t need to know your life, because I barely know _you._ I don’t know how you’re wrapped up in this whole thing, and it doesn’t matter much to me.”

“Why? Because you think that there’s any chance you can crawl back to your old life after what you did?” She snorted out a quick laugh. “After they paraded you onstage as a big fucking hero or whatever lies they were trying to sell? Besides, why would you want to go back to that life anyway?”

“It was all I had, after everything,” She muttered softly. “The drones came and fucking killed my lusus and she was everything I had… I used to think that joining the fucking Army would be an adventure, but I guess I wasn’t thinking about the price of admission. Or anything else really.” She stopped to wipe a tear away — her face was betraying how she felt again. “Not that you’re know anything about that, right? I’m sure you used some fucking loophole in the system. Or just… ignored it. Goddamn cerulean… you’re not in the service… you get to have your lusus. Must be fucking nice.”

She looked down at the palmhusk, gripping it tightly in her hand and gritting her teeth. This fucking high blood was sitting here talking like she knew even the first thing about anything, but what did any of it even _mean?_ Skylla let the silence fall over the two of them and made a point to avoid looking at Elwurd. Let her sit there and think whatever thoughts she had — let her stare all she wanted. None of it would change a damn thing.

“That’s not true.” Elwurd’s voice sounded so _different_ now — it was as if she’d been robbed of every ounce of the brash confidence she was speaking with before. The voice coming out of her now was small and scared, like a wiggler who’d had a bad dream. Skylla turned to look at her — her face was shadowed and there were tears in her eyes. For some reason, the sight of it made Skylla’s blood boil — she snarled at Elwurd, who shrank back.

“Really? It’s not nice? It’s not nice to be able to duck out of the thing that keeps us fucking oppressed? To be able to sit and talk about _fuck the system_ when you benefit from it as much as anyone else? That you can sit here and talk about this to someone who’s just told you they lost their fucking lusus because of the goddamn recruitment…” Skylla couldn’t finish the sentence — she could already feel her throat choking up into a sob. “How… fucking… dare you?!”

Elwurd lowered her eyes, and when she spoke the voice was still the same quiet, scared voice.

“I… you’re wrong.”

“About fucking _what_ you spoiled, high-blood—”

“About my lusus.”

A chill settled in over Skylla. Elwurd stared at the ground in front of her.

“Foxmom… she was pretty and she was kind and she kept me safe. And yeah, I tried to do what I could to get an exemption. And then, when I turned ten, the drones showed up at my hive and told me it was time to report to the Fleet…”

Skylla’s guts crawled, and she wanted very much to be somewhere else. To not hear this story… because it was her story too.

“...and I knew what was going to happen, and I couldn’t decide if maybe I went quickly that I could get her to run away and they’d just ignore her.” Elwurd swallowed heavily and her face twisted into a deep frown — tears were running down her cheeks. “But she kept crawling up and winding herself around my legs… she used to do that when I was little and it always made me feel better. But I think she was just trying to protect me or maybe just to make me feel better because I was upset…”

_I don’t want to hear this._ Skylla sat silently, listening.

“But the drones, they—” she let out a sob — “they just kind of peeled her off of me and tossed her against the wall. And she… she made this _horrible_ sound and she was bleeding and… I wanted to help her so badly. I wanted to do _anything_ to stop it from happening.”

Elwurd _laughed_ — and the sound held more pain in it than Skylla thought it could… a pain that felt so intimately familiar to her.

“So I just stood there, frozen in place, and one of the drones stomped down on her head and… and she wasn’t moving anymore. And I wanted to do _something—_ to fight the drones or avenge her or something…” She shrugged her shoulders and wrapped herself up into a ball, hugging her knees up to her chest and tucking her chin down. “So I ran away. I ran from the drones and I managed to get away into the underground and then after a while they just stopped looking for me. Because they had a lot of other stops to make.”

She sighed. “And I wanted to go back and at least bury her body but… I was too scared. I never went back. I just kept running.”

_You can never run fast enough or far enough — your thoughts will always catch up to you._

“I’m… sorry,” Skylla said softly. Elwurd shrugged her shoulders again.

“Why? It didn’t happen to you. I just want to not have to feel that pain all the time. So I do things to escape from it a few minutes at a time. Is that so bad?”

“No… I don’t think so,” Skylla said, not wanting to look at Elwurd. “No, I guess it’s really not. I guess… I think I can understand how you feel.”

“Sure,” Elwurd said sadly. “Guess I saw some of that in you too, and that’s why I kept staring. Or just because you’re pretty and I wanted to take an opportunity to escape… for a few minutes at a time.”

She wasn’t sure exactly _when_ she went to kiss Elwurd… or exactly _why_ she went to kiss Elwurd. But she did know that she was inches from her face when she realized what she was even doing, and she definitely had her fingers in the back of her hair. And she was _definitely_ basically on top of the woman and staring directly into her eyes.

_What the fuck am I doing?!_ She blushed a bright, ruddy bronze and stammered out — “Oh… I’m so sorry… I just…”

But Elwurd was smiling at her, and it didn’t have a trace of the defensive smirk to it this time. Skylla wondered how many people had ever gotten to see that smile.

“A few minutes at a time,” she said, softly. And then she leaned forward, closed her eyes, and kissed Skylla.


	34. Pack up and Leave

the 6th night…

The Hidden City, South Alternia - 1305 local time (0405 AUT)

“I basically told her to fuck off and now I’m here,” Lanque said, his voice taking a haughty tone that suggested to Daraya that he was absolutely full of shit. She rolled her eyes. They’d been sitting around the plaza outside the old Elysia library for a couple hours now — just sitting around and swapping bullshit, mostly.

“Yeah, sure you did. You told Bronya to fuck off?” Daraya had known Lanque for a long time and while he could be arrogant and generally willing to speak to anyone however he wanted, she’d never known him to be openly defiant towards Bronya. She wasn’t sure if that was out of respect or fear.

“Oh yeah, absolutely.” He smiled. “I think she was basically speechless.”

Daraya nodded. “Hmm… so if we go back to the caverns she’d be pretty broken up over it? I mean, you probably hurt her feelings a lot by talking to her like that?”

He narrowed his eyes. “And why would we ever go back?”

This time, Daraya avoided his gaze pointedly. She didn’t actually _want_ to talk about why she’d been thinking of going back. Maybe because it wasn’t just one thing… and maybe because at least one of those things was actually pretty embarrassing.

foreverVigilant began chatting with waywardspirit at 0149 AST (1649 AUT)

Lynera

-Daraya I shouldn’t be messaging you   
-Because you’re a bitch who abandoned us!!!   
-But…

-I guess I can’t do that right now   
-I guess maybe it’s not worth it anymore   
-And I guess maybe I don’t care about any of it   
-!!At least you don’t fucking lie to me!!

-I can’t keep living like this   
-Everything’s always like this and   
-I miss you   
-!!Why the fuck do I miss you?!!   
-I wish things weren’t like this

It had been over eleven hours since that had burned up her screen — the same time that she’d sent a very similar message to Lynera. _Why the fuck did I do that?!_ As if the answer to that question wasn’t obvious.

“What’s so interesting on the damn palmhusk?” Lanque asked. “You’ve been checking it every five minutes for the last two hours. Whatever it is isn’t going to happen faster because you keep checking your messages.”

“Doesn’t matter — she won’t message me back,” Daraya muttered. She ignored Lanque’s inquiring _hmm?_ and checked the phone again. _Kind of a weird thing to wonder about in the circumstances, isn’t it?_

Maybe. Maybe not. They’d both held onto the same secret for sweeps, and now that secret was pretty well out of the bag. Did Bronya know yet? That seemed unlikely, unless Lynera had actually come out and _told_ her… and that seemed… Daraya wanted to say it seemed unlikely but she wasn’t particularly sure about that. A lot of unlikely things had been happening lately, and she wasn’t about to count out Lynera telling her flushed crush about their secret.

_I can’t fucking believe we have it._ And she wasn’t going to say anything to Lanque about it. Enough people already knew — Galekh for one… and now the two teals and that one rust blood singer. Of all of them, the one she was the most hopeful about was Galekh. There had to be something that having a fuschia blood egg could do for them. Having the future potential Empress was a pretty big fucking find for the rebellion. It also put a giant fucking target on their backs.

Was that why she was focusing in so much on the whole thing with Lynera? Because that was some microscopic issue that she could actually grapple with. The rebellion — everything surrounding it — was such a vast concept that it hurt to even think about it. She’d never been more than peripherally involved, and now she was being thrown right into the middle of it.

_So yeah, I guess thinking about pitch feelings helps me cope. So fucking what._ She sighed to herself and looked, for probably the hundredth time, at the palmhusk in her hand.

“What’re you thinking about now with that sad face? Thinking about your crush?” Lanque asked in a mocking voice.

Daraya glared — “Why would I be thinking about Lyn—” and she managed to catch herself, but it wasn’t in time. Lanque sneered.

“Oh ho. I suspected as much. You know she’s fucking Bronya, right?”

Daraya felt her stomach clench up.“What?! Why’d you only mention this _now?!_ ”

Lanque shrugged. “Oh, you know. I figured you were basically done with all the jade politics… who’s sleeping with who and all that good stuff.”

“It was usually just you sleeping with folks!” Daraya snapped back.

“Not sure why you’re taking it personally. Anyway, she’s got robes made of the same damn fabric of those pajamas that Bronya’s always wearing. So… make of that what you will. If I had to guess I’d say it’s a real _crimson_ thing, you know? She was in Bronya’s room hardly wearing anything when I last saw her.” Lanque waved a hand in the air. “You figure it out.”

_Why the fuck is this bothering me?! We could literally be dead soon!_

“Shut up, you dumb fuck. It doesn’t matter right now anyway.” She shot a glare in Lanque’s direction and looked down at the palmhusk. Again.

“Hey, you never know — maybe she’s looking for a pitch quadrantmate too. Pretty sure you’re the closest thing she ever had to a kismesis. So, yeah, you know… you’ve still got a chance.”

“Fuck off.” She flipped him off and glared again. “It’s none of your fucking business in the first place who I’m pitch or red or whatever for. Point being it’s not you.”

Lanque shrugged again. “Never been a problem for me — don’t particularly care.” He settled back and crossed his arms, and he still had that smug look on his face.

_It doesn’t fucking matter. He’s just trying to distract himself like I am. Trying to focus in on the smallest thing possible because we can fucking manage it._ Except she was having trouble even managing the smaller things. Daraya sighed and closed her eyes. _Hey maybe she wants the same thing and you can at least see what it’s like before you fucking die._

“Great,” Daraya muttered to herself. Lanque either didn’t hear it or didn’t care to answer, because he stayed silent. That was fine with her — she didn’t want to keep having this stupid discussion in the first place. It wasn’t any of his business. _He’s just being a gossipy bitch anyway, he doesn’t actually care._

She settled down and closed her eyes again.

* * *

She hadn’t really been asleep, but she’d been drifting when she heard the shouting. Daraya’s eyes snapped open and she looked around, fully expecting the Imperial drones to already be on top of them. Daraya pushed herself to her feet and looked around — Lanque had gone off somewhere else and there didn’t seem to be any drones around. But someone was still making a hell of a lot of noise.

It was coming from the library building, so Daraya ran up the steps and inside the main room. Elwurd was in there with Skylla, the two of them looking just as confused as Daraya felt.

“What the hell is happening?” She called over to Elwurd. Elwurd just responded with a shrug.

She didn’t have to wait long for an explanation — from the top of the stairs, Tyzias came running down, a frantic look in her eyes. She didn’t even wait for anyone to say anything.

“We need to get the fuck out of here right the fuck now!” There was raw terror in her voice. “ _Right the fuck now!_ ”

No one said anything — her face said that this wasn’t a joke or a misunderstanding. Daraya narrowed her eyes.

“What’s happening?” she asked cautiously, not knowing if she wanted to hear the answer.

But Tyzias just shook her head. “No, we’re fucking leaving. The Empire knows that we’re here.”

“So, when can we expect to get our asses killed?” She wasn’t sure quite what to make of all of this.

Tyzias glared. “Gor-gor said hours, so I’d say we’ve probably got an hour. Says they’re gonna just fucking bomb the place and not even bother sending anyone down.”

Daraya raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of information. Who’s the fucking _source_ on all of this?”

“Imperator Petrus’ executive officer.”

Daraya heard it and her blood ran cold. Inside, her mind was falling backwards and it wouldn’t stop. Without even thinking about it, she pulled her palmhusk and began to type, basically just writing the first things that came to mind.

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 1327 AST (0427 AUT)

Daraya

▼▼ So we’re probably about to get fucking killed. ▼▼   
▼ I guess this is as good a time as any to confess. ▼   
▲ You’re a huge bitch. ▲   
▲▲ You’re a huge bitch and I love you for it. ▲▲

▲ I’ve got a big fucking pitch crush on you and I have for a while. ▲   
▲ Also I’m fucking happy for you and Bronya. Good for you. She’s kinda hot, right? ▲

▼ Anyway I’ll keep a seat for you in hell, you goddamn bitch ▼   
▲ Fuuuuck wish I could’ve said this all in person ▲

▲▲ Had a dream about pailing with you once, lol ▲▲

With a shocked look in her eyes, Daraya slipped the palmhusk back into her pocket. “So what do we do now?”

Tyzias looked around at all of them, and they all looked back at her. “What? I’m not a fucking leader! Where the hell is Galekh?”

Elwurd spoke up — “He’s probably not living here. I don’t even know if he’s aware of what’s happening.”

“Gor-gor’s his fucking kismesis,” Tyzias said slowly. “If he’s not aware he will be soon.”

“Great! So we can go lie down and wait to die knowing that at least a blueblood with dreams of rebellion will be able to watch from a comfortable distance!” She turned and paced a few feet away, then turned back. “Anyone else want to confess anything embarrassing before you go or am I the only one dumb enough to have just done that?”

Tyzias and her matesprit exchanged confused glances and Tyzias turned back to Daraya. “What did you just say?”

“I said I just confessed that I had a dream about fucking my pitch crush. Is that what you needed to hear?”

“No! Why would you even do that?!” Daraya shrank back at the words. _I’m not sure myself, trust me._ But Tyzias kept talking — “I’m not talking about your last-minute admissions… the word you used reminded me — _confess._ ”

Daraya quirked an eyebrow. “What? Am I not educated enough to use the words that the Legiscorpus likes so much?”

“No, shut up,” Tyzias muttered. “It reminded me of the story of the Confessor — the disgraced teal blood who showed up at the jade caverns that once housed the Dolorosa. He begged safe passage to admit his misdeeds to the conclave and beg their assistance in mediating with the Neophyte Redglare.”

“So?” Daraya had no idea why Tyzias even thought this was worth sharing. “The answer to your problems lies in mythology?”

“It does if your Abbess or whatever the fuck still keeps to that compact.”

“She’s not a fucking _Abbess_ — she’s not even a _Novice!_ Stop acting like she’s so much fucking better because she’s supposed to be going offworld soon!” Daraya balled her fists.

“Whatever,” Tyzias shrugged. “Will she give us safe passage if we can get there?”

“I mean…” Daraya thought of the ailing grubs paddling around in their little pools of sopor. Grubs that had no business even being alive, let alone thriving the way they did. “Yes… she will.”

Tyzias nodded — “All right, pack your fucking bags and tell as many people around here as you can — we’re going on a little field trip.”


	35. What Remains is Fire

the 6th night…

Southern Caverns - 1325 local time (0425 AUT)

Lynera was grateful that she didn’t have to talk about the fuschia egg with Bronya, at least not right away. After she told her, Bronya seemed… oddly accepting of the fact that her brand-new red fling had been harboring a secret that could literally get the entire cavern wiped away by the Empire. Bronya had thanked her for being honest… then they’d gotten very close for a while — Lynera still couldn’t quite believe that was happening.

Then they’d slept, and when they woke up Bronya still didn’t ask to talk about the same issue. They went about their duties, but Bronya did ask that Lynera accompany her through the day. It wasn’t exactly an arduous request to make, and Lynera felt such an immense relief at the fact that Bronya didn’t suddenly hate her that she complied without thinking twice about it.

After midnight, they went into the nursery to attend to the grubs that were paddling around in there. The gold blood had gotten strong enough that they were probably almost ready to be moved back in with the rest of the grubs, but Lynera knew that Bronya would give them a few more days to make sure rather than rush and risk injuring the grub.

_That’s why she’s the best of us._ The thought came sudden and unbidden to Lynera, and she looked down in embarrassment. Bronya finished checking on the grubs and stood up, smoothing out her skirt and turning toward Lynera.

“I have to check on something for a minute. Can you 1 — please keep an eye on this gold blood, they are quite bitey today, and 2 — be ready for a conversation about certain important matters when I return.” It wasn’t a question, and Lynera felt her stomach sinking a little bit as she heard it. Still, she nodded silently and tried her best to smile.

Bronya was only out of the room for a minute when Lynera’s palmhusk buzzed. She wasn’t expecting anyone to message her. _Maybe Bronya needs me to do something else?_

But it wasn’t Bronya’s name that she saw on the screen, and as Lynera read the message she went through a spectrum of emotions that ranged from relief, to terror, to utter, mortified embarrassment.

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 1327 AST (0427 AUT)

Daraya

▼▼ So we’re probably about to get fucking killed. ▼▼   
▼ I guess this is as good a time as any to confess. ▼   
▲ You’re a huge bitch. ▲   
▲▲ You’re a huge bitch and I love you for it. ▲▲

▲ I’ve got a big fucking pitch crush on you and I have for a while. ▲   
▲ Also I’m fucking happy for you and Bronya. Good for you. She’s kinda hot, right? ▲

▼ Anyway I’ll keep a seat for you in hell, you goddamn bitch ▼   
▲ Fuuuuck wish I could’ve said this all in person ▲

▲▲ Had a dream about pailing with you once, lol ▲▲

Lynera

-Wait what the fuck!!!!!?   
-Are you being serious right now!?!!!!

-!!!!I swear you tell me what’s going on RIGHT NOW!!!!   
-Are you being serious or is this some kind of awful joke?!!!!!!!

-!!!!!!!!DAMN IT DARAYA WHAT’S GOING ON?!!!!!!!!

She clutched the palmhusk and her pusher was working overtime, thudding as it pumped blood directly into the flush that had spread through her cheeks and forehead. She didn’t know how else to respond to this other than to keep asking whether Daraya was serious and what in the hell was going on. What else could she say to all of that? Was Daraya _serious_ about all this pitch stuff, or was this another joke at Lynera’s expense? What in the world did she mean that she was about to be killed?

Lynera knew that her last message to Daraya had been… suggestive… but she hadn’t wanted to be cruel with it. Cruelty wasn’t something that Lynera aspired to, generally. And…

_And you want to do the same thing with her that you’re doing with Bronya now, right?_

She clenched her fist and whispered a denial out loud for no one — there was no one around to judge her or insist that she was absolutely full of hoofbeast shit. It didn’t even matter, because Daraya wasn’t around anymore and Lynera wasn’t about to go looking for her. Pitch crush or no pitch crush, there were things that she needed to attend to in the caverns.

_“Had a dream about pailing with you once, lol”_ — why was she always like this? Why couldn’t she just stop for _one second_ and be honest about how she felt?

_I think she WAS doing that._ Lynera looked back down at the palmhusk.

foreverVigilant began chatting with waywardspirit at 1329 AST (0429 AUT)

Lynera

-Look I’m sorry, okay?   
-I didn’t mean to shout like this I just get freaked out sometimes   
-I’m sorry

-If you come back here we can talk about all of this.

...

-If you message me back we can talk about all of this.   
-I’m sorry, Daraya.   
-You’re still a jerk too and I hate you.

_Hate her so much you wanna kiss her, right?_ Lynera closed her eyes and sighed, finally putting the palmhusk away. She’d either respond or she wouldn’t, and Lynera guessed that she didn’t much care anymore which one it was. If Daraya ever showed her face around the caverns again, then they could talk about it.

_Talk… that’s funny. I just want to talk to her… nothing else._

Lynera was so caught up in the thoughts running through her mind that she didn’t even notice when Bronya came back into the nursery. Didn’t notice until Bronya softly cleared her throat. Lynera looked up quickly and Bronya smiled at her.

“I think that we should talk now,” she said quietly. Lynera felt her stomach knot up. _Here it comes. It was nice while it lasted, at least._ She didn’t say anything — just nodded and got herself ready.

But when Bronya spoke, there was something soft in her voice. “I… I have been thinking a lot about what you and Daraya hid and… 1 — I understand why you did not tell me at first and… 2 — … I…” She looked down and a look crossed her face that Lynera didn’t know how to read. “I would have done the same thing.”

The words echoed in the space between them, and Lynera thought for a moment that she’d misheard something. Or Bronya had misspoken. Something other than what she was hearing. Something other than the suggestion that someone else agreed with her.

“What?” That was all that Lynera could manage.

“Did I not speak loudly enough?” It wasn’t sarcasm — she was genuinely asking. “I apologize, I would like to reiterate that 1 — I understand why you kept this secret and 2 — I would do the exact same thing in your position. I would have also spared the egg and kept it in secret once I realized it would soon be hatching if not preserved.”

“But why? You know that the Empire would kill all of us if they found out!”

Bronya shook her head. “Perhaps…” she paused and looked directly at Lynera, “I am tired of doing the wrong thing only out of fear of the Empire.” Lynera looked around at the nursery — the place where grubs that should be culled were instead given the care needed to survive.

_...because maybe sometimes what we’re supposed to do and what we should do are two different things_ Words Lynera spoke moments before Bronya leaned in and kissed her for the first time. And instead of ignoring each others’ feelings like they were supposed to, they decided to express them.

Far from shying away from her, Bronya stepped in and reached out to take her hands. She help them together and smiled at her. “I understand why you did this. Like the grubs here in the nursery… because so much of what we do is _wrong._ And you saw a chance to do something to change that… even if it was just one small thing.”

Lynera wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable calling it a small thing, but she thought she understood the meaning. She allowed herself one, small smile. “I hadn’t… I didn’t think about it very much.”

“Nonsense,” Bronya said. “I don’t believe you.”

“You know the others talk about me,” she muttered. “They say I’m only interested in… being with you.”

Bronya leaned in and kissed her. “Well, now you _are_ with me.” The words sent a small thrill up Lynera’s back. “So there is that.” She frowned and looked away. “But that isn’t what I wanted to talk about. I believe that 1 — you absolutely did the right thing, 2 — it is something that could incur the wrath of the Empire, and 3 — we need to discuss what we are going to do next.”

Lynera felt Bronya squeeze her hand. “Come on, let’s go outside for some air for a while and we can keep talking.”

* * *

Lynera didn’t go outside the caverns much — she didn’t generally make it her business to try to sneak away like Daraya and Lanque had. But still, she’d been to the entrance many times. The City of Everdim was visible in the distance, glittering in a splendour of artificial lights just a few short miles away. Sometimes, Lynera had wondered what it was like to be in that city. Sometimes that felt like freedom… other times it felt like it was just a different form of servitude.

Bronya held her hand as they looked out toward the city together. Lynera heard Bronya’s voice beside her in the darkness — a soft whisper of breath. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”

Lynera nodded and squeezed Bronya’s hand, and the two of them took a step closer until Lynera was tucked up against Bronya’s chest and she had her arms around her. Lynera sighed and closed her eyes. “I wish it was all as simple as it looked. That we could just go… live in the city or something. Take the egg with us… let it hatch.”

Bronya laughed. “You want us to mother the next Heiress?”

“She shouldn’t be the next Heiress. There shouldn’t _be_ a next Heiress. She should be able to be soft and kind and…” Lynera stopped herself. _What the hell are you saying?! You shouldn’t even be thinking these things!_

“You’re right,” Bronya sighed. “A life untroubled by the expectations of one’s hatching. That would be ideal. We don’t know the future soul that resides in that egg, but I believe that every grub deserves the same opportunity.”

“You could be culled for saying that,” Lynera whispered. She heard Bronya laugh and suddenly felt the gentle press of lips against her neck.

“And you could be culled for… 1 — preserving a fuschia egg against the wishes of the Empress, 2 — literally anything we’re currently doing together… or…” She leaned in and nipped slightly at the skin of Lynera’s neck and Lynera could feel a little smile behind it. “3 — if you ever chose to act on that very obvious pitch crush you and Daraya have on each other.”

Lynera blushed. “You know about that?” _So you’re not even going to pretend to deny it anymore?_

Bronya laughed lightly. “I’m pretty good at figuring out how people feel about each other, at least.” _“I knew all along”_

“So what do we do, then?” Lynera asked. “We’re both doing things that will get us killed. But they’re… they’re the right things to be doing.” Bronya was running a hand slowly up and down her back… and in spite of everything, Lynera actually felt _safe_ for once. Not so much that she was truly in the clear from any of this, but at least that she wasn’t going to have to face it all alone.

“I don’t know,” Bronya said.

“We could… hatch the egg? Raise the grub in secret?”

Bronya shook her head. “I don’t know. We _could_ do that but… what then? The Empress realizes what’s happening and destroys our cavern? They say that she can sense the presence of an Heiress when one appears.”

“Is that even true?!” Lynera was having such a hard time figuring out what _was,_ these days. “Can she really sense their presence? Maybe we could let the grub hatch and just… pretend she’s like the others.”

“And what about when she becomes a wiggler? When she starts to hear the call of her lusus? She won’t be able to stay with us forever. The Empress _will_ find out and then… what then?”

Lynera didn’t have an answer. “Okay, so… we can keep the egg preserved. Leave the caverns and go… somewhere else. Somewhere far away. Wait until we can figure out what to do?”

Bronya smiled and tucked Lynera into herself. “Like the Dolorsa? If I remember correctly, that story didn’t end happily.” They all knew it — a piece of forbidden knowledge to most Alternians, but one so widely circulated that it was almost comically unenforced. Because the story’s ultimate message was clear enough — anyone who rose against the Empire would be destined to death… or worse.

“I don’t know,” Lynera said sadly — that feeling of safety was rapidly beginning to evaporate. “I don’t know… that’s why Daraya and I just kept the egg. Because we didn’t know what else to do. I was hoping maybe… maybe you’d know of another possibility.”

Bronya sighed heavily. “I wish I did.” She sighed again, but then seemed to gather herself up. “But I do know that 1 — we’re in this together, 2 — we’re not going to just give up, and 3 — we’re going to figure out what to do.”

“I… I’m glad. I’m glad you’re here with me, Bronya.” Lynera opened her eyes and the glitter of the buildings in the distance reminded her of the twinkle of stars overhead. It was peaceful — a reminder that sometimes Alternia could be a pleasant place. A beautiful place, even.

They were too far from the city to hear the first of the drones. Too far, even, to hear the noise of the explosions.

The first sign that something was wrong was the flare of a concussion bomb as it blazed against the night — a silent harbinger of death that had just wiped out thousands with a single stroke.

Bronya and Lynera clutched each other tightly — wordlessly…

…and in the distance, the City of Everdim began to burn.


	36. A Highblood's Inferno

the 6th night…

The Hidden City, South Alternia - 1328 local time (0428 AUT)

“Zizi, what are we going to _do?!_ ” Stelsa looked right at Tyzias — everyone was looking at her now and she had no idea how to answer any of them. The closest thing she even had to a plan was to the completely offhand suggestion that they flee to the nearby jade caverns. Maybe that would buy them some time, at least. It hardly seemed like a permanent solution — even if the Empire would be reluctant to bomb the source of their next generation, they wouldn’t hesitate to send enough soldiers down there to wipe out every single person who wasn’t part of the caverns and ensure that the only ones left were loyal slaves to the Empire itself.

So, overall, not a great plan. Not a great plan — but probably the best they were going to get.

“Get everyone you can in this city and gather them up and tell them we’re moving immediately. How many people can the caverns hold?”

Daraya shrugged — “A whole shitting lot of them? There’s caverns that we haven’t even used in a while. Probably the whole damn city. It’s not gonna be comfortable though.”

Tyzias frowned. “I’d say that’s less of a priority than getting people safely out. Probably a lot of them can just slip back into the city or the surrounding area. The ones who aren’t kill-on-sight by the Empire, anyway.” She looked over at Elwurd and Skylla. “Will you two go round up everyone else who’s either a jade blood fleeing from the fucking caverns or on somebody’s shit list? The singer… the other jade… whoever else you think is gonna be targeted. I’ll leave it to your fucking discretion.”

“So what about you?” Darya glared at Tyzias. “What’s your big fucking plan for yourself, since you’re so keen on leading everyone right now?”

Tyzias glared at her — this wasn’t the time or the place for any of this, and she wasn’t going to let this junior Novice tell her otherwise. “I’m going to figure out how much time we’ve got before the shit starts to rain down from the fucking heavens. Also, I’d like you to stick with me.”

She actually _laughed_ at that one. “And _why_ the fuck would I do that?”

“Because…” Tyzias stopped and took a deep breath. “Because I’m asking you to.”

“You’re gonna have to give me a little more to go on than that, Legiscorpus,” Daraya glared at her and Tyzias sighed.

“Fine. Because I trust you to be able to talk to the other jades and I’ve known you for a few minutes longer than the other one.” Tyzias shrugged. “That good enough for you or should I make up some more?”

“Zizi,” Stelsa interrupted, “please stop this and let’s get going!”

She was right — they probably didn’t have a whole lot of time. Tyzias grabbed her palmhusk and pulled up Tagora’s contact information.

ferventnihilist began chatting with bettercallgorgor at 1331 AST (0431 AUT)

Tyzias

talk to mmmme, gor-gor — howwww fucked are wwwwe?

Tagora

On a scale of 1 to 10?   
Probably a good even hundred. *_________

Tyzias

seriously wwwwe need timmmme to get the fuck outta here   
i need to knowwww howwww mmmmuch they knowwww and wwwwhat they’re planning

Tagora

I’m already sticking my neck pretty far out for my kismesis — why should I add you to the list of people I care about enough to trust? *_________

Tyzias

because a lot of people are gonna fucking die!

Tagora

Look, I was able to warn you in advance. You’re got maybe… I don’t know, an hour? Maybe less? I don’t know that information!

Tyzias

there’s another thing   
i need to knowwww howwww mmmmuch they knowwww about mmmme and stels!   
are they looking for us specifically?

Tagora

Oddly enough, no. As far as they know you just kind of didn’t report back in. Stelsa might be a bit iffier after running off with the rustie, but they’re being quiet about it so… good news? *_________

Tyzias

wwwwould it be possible to get back on the iutatia?

Tagora

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, right? This is a ridiculous joke. *_________

Tyzias

no it’s not a fucking joke   
i need to get back on board and it’s immmmportant

Tagora

I mean… it’s not impossible. No one technically knows where you are and you’re not flagged for culling or anything. So it might be possible. _Might._ *_________

Tyzias

wwwwhat needs to happen to get us back up there?

Tagora

Short of some solution involved magic or time travel? You’ll need to find a shuttle back up. *_________

Tyzias

and you have sommmme advice for mmmme on howwww to get to one?

Tagora

Not unless you’re planning on being on the receiving end of a ground strike. And honestly I don’t think that’s where this thing is going.   
By which I mean they’re gonna bomb the shit out of you. *_________

Tyzias

thanks, sore-gore, you’re a big fucking help

Tyzias shoved the palmhusk away and turned to stare at Daraya.

“Is there a way out of the jade caverns that the Empire wouldn’t expect or know about?”

She shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, there’s a few ways out. If you’re willing to risk the Cavewrights, there’s even a way out that’ll take you basically into another cavern system. It’s like twenty miles long or some shit like that.”

“Good.” Tyzias allowed herself one small smile.

“Zizi, I have an excellent idea of where you’re going with this and I’m telling you — it’s a bad plan.”

Tyzias winked and leaned over to kiss Stelsa on the cheek. “Oh, I know it’s a terrible plan. But it’s about the best chance we’ve got right now. The alternative being _get the shit bombed out of us_ or perhaps _wait for them to invade the caverns and kill us._ ”

But Daraya’s face remained skeptical — and she glared at the two of them as she looked back and forth between the teals. “Do you mind explaining the specifics for an unenlightened poor little jade blood who doesn’t have half a brain in her little head?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Or is that asking too much?”

“It’s simple,” Tyzias said. “Not great, but simple. The caverns are an asset that the Empire won’t want to risk destroying, at least not with your secret still kept secret. So they’ll send in a ground team to clean out most everyone. If Stels and I can slip into their command line during the chaos, we can fake our way into things… at least in theory. Best case, we end up on board a shuttle back to the Iutitia.”

Daraya still looked skeptical. “What’s the worst case?”

“Worst case? They just decide to bomb the caverns anyway and we’re all fucked. Right in the middle is the outcome where they just shoot Stels and I in the head and kill everyone in the caverns anyway.”

“Zizi!” Stelsa exclaimed. “You stop it!”

“I’m just trying to be realistic about this,” Tyzias said with a shrug. The odds weren’t necessarily in their favor… but they weren’t necessarily completely stacked against them either. It was, to be realistic about it, about as good a chance as they were going to get.

But Daraya didn’t look impressed by this — she cut her eyes at Tyzias, then at Stelsa. “Realistic? No… realistic would be getting as far away from all of this as possible. Find some quiet corner where they won’t find you… or at least won’t for a long time. Grow old together or whatever sentimental bullshit you believe in. Why not do that?”

“Because I don’t want to leave your cerulean friend to die up there,” Tyzias said plainly. Daraya was staring at her, but she didn’t say anything. “Turns out I’m not as apathetic as I seem. Oops.”

Stelsa spoke up again, her voice quieter than normal. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea… but I also don’t see any other way out of the situation either. Not one that results in both our survival and the potential to rescue.” She sighed and stared down at the ground — Tyzias went over and put an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. She nodded and pressed her cheek to her matesprit’s gently. “I’m sorry for saying it, Zizi.”

Tyzias let out a long, heavy sigh — the problem wasn’t that she said it, the problem was that she was right. It wasn’t a good plan — it involved a lot of complicated moving pieces and a lot of potential failure points. It was, she’d be the first to admit, a remarkably shitty plan.

“It’s fine. If I think of something better — if _anyone_ thinks of something better…” She let her words trail off, but the meaning was obvious. “All right… so let’s get this whole shitty production moving.”

* * *

They didn’t even bother to look for Galekh — after the comment about staying outside of the Hidden City it didn’t seem worth it — and settled on gathering up a few of the others. Elwurd, Skylla, Lanque, and Chixie. Tyzias outlined the basic plan—

“This is a bad plan,” Lanque said bluntly when Tyzias finished. “It’s going to get people killed.”

Tyzias glared. “I know that. I am, in fact, painfully aware of it. But I don’t have a better option on the table. If I did, I would’ve already brought it up and we’d be doing that instead.” That seemed to shut Lanque up, at least for the time being. “Anyway, there’s two pieces to this — one is I need folks to stay with the folks who’re evacuating to the jade caverns. The rest will go ahead and tell the caverns that we—”

She never got a chance to finish the sentence — the rumble of a concussion bomb from above made its way from the surface above and reverberated through the entire cavern. In the distance, the sound of part of the cavern ceiling collapsing and falling in on the city below.

“What the fuck?!” Tyzias shouted, looking frantically around. “They shouldn’t be starting this soon!”

“Well they obviously fucking _are!_ ” Daraya shouted, starting to scramble down back toward the plaza.

“Wait!” Elwurd yelled back at her as another rumbling blast shook the roof of the cavern. Daraya stopped immediately and Elwurd continued — “There’s a side passage that leads out into a tunnel network that’ll take us partway there.” She was already running for it, taking the crumbling steps two at a time. Tyzias immediately follow, trailed closely by the rest.

As they ran, another bomb hit above — these all felt like calibrating… a way to check the aim before the main salvo. Tyzias pushed herself ahead, keeping as close to Elwurd as she could. The had reached the plaza before the next round of bombs hit above, shaking the ceiling and knocking another series of rocks loose to fall down into the plaza itself. Tyzias stopped and looked quickly at the others… Skylla, Daraya, Elwurd, Lanque, Chixie… and Stelsa. Tyzias had just enough time to breathe before another pair of explosions rocked the cavern.

“We need to go!” Daraya called to her. “There’s nothing else we can do.”

Tyzias looked at Daraya. “There’s still people back there to warn — lives to save!”

“No there fucking _aren’t!_ ” she snapped back quickly. “I’m sorry… I’m _so_ fucking sorry but…” Tyzias saw the look in her eyes and it made her blood pusher feel like breaking. “There isn’t anything we can do except get clear of this place and keep fighting.”

“She’s fucking right!” Elwurd yelled over the rising din of the bombardment overhead. The roof of the cavern was dropping increasingly large chunks of stone and rubble. A particularly large piece landed directly on the library, flattening the corner of the facade. “You can’t save this place and you can’t save these people.”

“Fuck!” Tyzias balled up her fists and she felt a burning rage that ran under her skin — a hatred for the people who would do something like this that ran far deeper than she realized. “Fuck… I know!”

Without another word, Tyzias turned her back and ran, following Elwurd and the others through the collapsing ruins of the Hidden City.


	37. Shifting Priorities

the 6th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0447 local time

Polypa could only hope that she’d been able to give the rebels enough time to get clear of their hideout before the attack started in full. The bombing drones had been prepared with a terrifying efficiency. Or, more likely, the High Imperator had already ordered them prepared to launch as soon as a target was provided.

The command deck was a flurry of activity once the strike order had been given — the ship’s Commander had been allowed back by the High Imperator in order to facilitate actually handling the logistics of a bombing strike. Polypa stood in the corner holding her portable computer and feeling her stomach twist into knots as she watched everything play out.

Even if Commander Carmia had nominally been placed back in charge of the ship, Imperator Petrus stood nearby and observed everything she did. Polypa almost felt bad for her — she only nominally had a choice in what she was doing. Polypa seemed to vaguely remember a time when Ardata Carmia had been a popular video streamer — popular for the way she reveled in her own violence.

She didn’t seem to be reveling in it now — more that she was just resigned to her job as the ship’s Commander.

“Initial run complete, High Imperator,” she said crisply. The High Imperator walked over and nodded to her.

“Good work, Commander Carmia. Do we have a follow-up report yet?”

She nodded her head and Polypa could see her flinch ever-so-slightly. “Yes, High Imperator… the… the city blocks around the target coordinates have sustained heavy damage. It appears that there was indeed an underground settlement in that location as well.”

Polypa saw the smile play across Petrus’ face and she fought the urge to turn and walk out of the room. She had no idea how many thousands of Alternians were caught in the blast radius of the strike on the rebel compound. She didn’t _want_ to know.

“Commander, prepare the secondary strike — and load the drones with standard yield ordnance this time.” Petrus nodded to Ardata, who immediately began typing something into her own portable screen. “When you’re done with that, have a surveillance drone sweep prepared to look for any survivors or for anyone who might’ve fled.

Polypa tensed up. _Does he know?!_

But Petrus continued about his business without even a glance in Polypa’s direction. If he suspected that she’d helped to warn the rebels what was happening, she’d already be long dead. The High Imperator was many things, but he was not someone who entertained betrayal. To that end, Polypa knew she was playing an extremely dangerous game.

“Commander Carmia,” Petrus said again, “prepare the ship to change orbital configuration to—”

A commotion at the door interrupted Petrus mid-sentence. Polypa turned to see Marvus Xoloto pushing his way onto the command deck. The massive purple blood had pushed right past security, who were too worried about offending one of the Subjugglators to do anything to stop him. He looked angry, but he smiled at Petrus as he walked in.

“Subjugglator Xoloto… I was under the impression that this bridge was closed off to unauthorized personnel.” Petrus frowned deeply, but Marvus didn’t seem fazed by it. Instead, he smiled.

“No restriction in place for me, brother. You know the tradition — Subjugglators have full access to the Fleet.” His smile stayed on even as Petrus glared at him. “Besides, I got some motherfuckin business to talk with you, Petrus.”

It seemed to Polypa that being so casual with the High Imperator might not be the best idea ever, even for a highblood like Marvus. Still, no one was asking her opinion on the matter.

“Subjugglator… while I respect the esteem of your office and regret the loss of so many of your station, I am currently in the middle of carrying out a strike on the rebels responsible for the aforementioned loss.”

Marvus smiled sadly. “A goddamn shame — I’ma have to invoke my rights here.”

Petrus narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth, and for a second Polypa was sure he was just going to kill the clown.

“Less you want to explain to the Empress why you plan to deny my right to hold a Carnival,” Marvus said — his voice had a low, heavy quality to it. “Though I suppose that’d be a damn shame to have to do… High Imperator.”

The look on Petrus’ face sealed it for Polypa — she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Petrus would absolutely kill Marvus if he had the chance.

“Far be it from me to deny the Subjugglators the right and honor they are owed,” Petrus said quietly. “What specifically are you asking me to do.”

“Why, simple,” Marvus grinned. “You’re gonna let me hold a Carnival of Judgement for Mallek Adalov.”

“You want to hold a show trial? Right now?” Petrus glared.

“Nah, not _now_ exactly. Gonna be at least a cycle or two to get ready for it.”

It still wasn’t clear from looking at him if Petrus wasn’t still willing to risk the Empress’ wrath by killing Marvus where he stood. But the High Imperator narrowed his eyes and spoke in an even, measured tone that sounded like it took all of his considerable discipline. “Very well, Subjugglator. You may make preparations. Why… I would imagine that Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty might very well wish to attend the… festivities.”

“Oh, I’m countin on it. Can’t have her thinkin’ that we’re all handling things like you, High Imperator.” Marvus winked and, without a further word, turned to walk out.

As soon as he was off the command deck and reasonably out of earshot, Petrus shouted and slammed a fist into the nearest console. “What fucking nerve! To interrupt to ask about that fucking ratbeast we’re still keeping alive for some reason!” He growled. “This entire thing is a fucking joke to him and all the other clowns. Why the Empress even continues to entertain their nonsense — as if cleaving to ancient traditions will somehow ensure Alternian prosperity.”

He paced to the end of the bridge and leaned over — Polypa was looking back and forth between him and Ardata, who didn’t seem to know what to do any more than she did.

“Commander Carmia…” Petrus sounded furious when he spoke. “Have the Iustitia brought to a low orbital path and prepare munitions for direct oribtal bombardment of the City of Everdim, focusing on the target coordinates and spreading out in a two miles radius. How long will that take?”

Ardata drew in a sharp breath — “It will take several hours, High Imperator… but… that will likely cause area damage to… most of the city.”

Petrus took two steps closer to her — and he didn’t put a finger on her, but she shrank back when she saw the look in his eyes. “I am aware, Commander.” She didn’t speak up again.

Polypa felt the knot in her gut tighten.

* * *

As soon as she went off-shift a half hour later, Polypa went straight to Tagora Gorjek’s quarters. She pounded on the door, glaring to herself. “Open the fucking door, Gorjek.” She could hear him scrambling around inside. “I can hear you inside. Open the fucking door or I swear to Empress I will break it the fuck down.”

“Okay, fine.” Tagora’s voice came muffled inside. “Hold on one second.”

“Right the fuck now,” she snapped. “I’m done with your bullshit.”

The latch clicked open and the door opened just a crack, revealing Tagora’s face. He smiled nervously. “Er… I’m engaged in a persona matter, would mind coming ba—”

She didn’t wait for him to finish the statement — Polypa shifted her weight forward and slammed the door into Tagora, knocking him back and clearing her way into the room. He fell back against the wall with a grunt and Polypa stepped through into the room, quickly closing the door behind her.

“You’re not supposed to be—” Tagora started to protest, but then caught a look at Polypa’s face and stopped.

“I don’t fucking care right now.” She walked into the room… and stopped.

Sitting on the bed at the end of the room was a small weasel with brilliant white fur. Polypa stared.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

The weasel lusus chirped at her and ran down to the floor, dashing over and winding around her legs before quickly returning to the bed and chirping again.

“You…” Polypa turned and stared at Tagora. “You could be culled for this. Like… they won’t even ask questions about your fucking weasel dad.”

He glared at her. “He is a ferret, actually. And I don’t care. You think I was going to go into the hell-hole that is the Legiscorpus by myself? You must understand, surely.”

Polypa shook her head. “Mine died when I was little… but… how did you get away with this?”

“He’s good at hiding,” Tagora said quietly. “And I don’t need a lecture on the risks I’m taking. I’m the one taking them. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Why?” Polypa shook her head. “Why risk everything to keep him around?”

“I don’t have to justify myself to you — you’re not my fucking moirail,” Tagora said with a sneer. “You’re just a fucking bully like the rest of the bastards out there.”

“I’m not a bully.” The comment stung a lot more than she wanted to admit. “And you’ve got a lot of fucking nerve talking about that… fucking Legiscorpus.”

“I’m a bureaucrat, dear,” Tagora said, rolling his eyes and walking over to pet the lusus who was now chasing his tail around on the bed. He sat down and let the lusus run into his lap and up his back, finally perching on his shoulders.

“Who do you think keeps this thing running?”

Tagora glared at her. “Oh, I’m aware. Do I wish that things were better? Sure, why not? But at the end of the day, I’m survivalist.”

“That’s not true, is it?” She looked directly at the lusus and Tagora shifted nervously. “It’s never been true.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. My motivations are purely self-interested. But you… why’d you come here, anyway? What’s keeping you going?”

She shook her head and stared at the lusus that was now running down and rolling over on the bed. “I don’t know why I came here. Petrus is going to bomb the city anyway and there’s nothing we can fucking do about it. But at least whoever was in the rebel encampment is safe. If they got out in time and didn’t try to disappear into the city.”

Without saying another word, Polypa turned and walked to the door, leaving a stunned Tagora to sit there with a shocked expression on his face.

* * *

She’d become good at pushing her emotions deep inside over the sweeps, so Polypa was able to get all the way back to her quarters before she broke down into a fit of sobbing. She slumped down in the entry to her quarters and pulled out her palmhusk, peering at the screen through the blur of her own tears.

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0553 AUT

Polypa

i tried * i really tried *|   
wasn’t good enough *|

Tegiri

What happened?

Polypa

it doesn’t matter * specifics never matter *|   
they’ll wipe out a few hundred thousand to kill a few hundred *|   
to send a fucking message *|   
when does it ever fucking end?! *|

Tegiri

I wish I had an answer for you.

Polypa

me too *|   
no simple answers, right? *|

Tegiri

Sad/y, that is never the case.  
Are you safe, at /east?

Polypa

as much as i can be * yeah *|

Tegiri

We//, try to stay that way!

She didn’t even get a chance to respond before the noise of someone pounding at the door jolted her up. Polypa pushed herself to standing and cautiously approached the door.

“Whoever’s there, I’m off shift. Take it up with the duty sergeant if you need something.”

She opened the door just enough to see who was there — she was already fixing her most furious expression. Sometimes all it took was a good glare and the lower ranks would basically just fall into line out of a desire to not piss you off.

As soon as the door was open, her eyes grew wide and any sense that she was going to be able to get out of this with a glare disappeared.

Marvus Xoloto was standing in her doorway.

“Hey, girl… can I come in real quick? We need to have us a little talk bout some of what you’ve been up to lately.”


	38. One Foot in my Memories

Chixie let the last note hang there in the air, suspended on the single thread of disbelief as she sustained the last word of the song and closed her eyes, falling into the feeling of the crowd. When she let her voice fade along with the last note of the guitar, the sound of applause rose to meet her, and she opened her eyes and bowed quickly with a broad smile on her face.

“Thank you! Thank you! Let’s give it up for my band!” She gestured back to the band who’d been playing with her for the last three perigees on tour. “Thank you! Y’all are great!”

She grinned — it was a genuine smile, born out of the energy of the crowd. No matter how bad things were getting in her personal life those days, she still had this. “And don’t forget our lovely host, for putting this all together!”

She didn’t bother to mention the other person who wanted a shout-out — the one who claimed it had been all his influence that made this happen. Which was a lie.

_Woman running this joint couldn’t even remember his name and she’s only a cerulean._

Maybe she’d pay for it later, but for right now that small piece of defiance was more than worth it. Chixie bowed deeply, sweeping her hands out and smiling wider. “And last but not least, let’s hear it for _you,_ my lovely audience! Couldn’t be here without y’all!”

She let that sound flow over her—

* * *

* * *

—as she looked back at the city, another flash went off and Chixie hit the ground. Next to her, she saw Cirava and Elwurd flatten themselves to the ground and close their eyes. But Chixie didn’t close her eyes — her head ached as the explosion flared against the night. And then the sound and the wave of pressure hit her and knocked her down.

And another few thousand Alternians simply stopped existing.

Chixie didn’t have it in her to cry anymore.

the 6th night…

The Southern Reaches, South Alternia - 1519 local time (0619 AUT)

As soon as the shockwave dissipated, Chixie struggled to her feet. She could already hear Elwurd shouting back at her.

“You okay?” The cerulean reached out and offered a hand — Chixie took it and was hoisted fully to her feet, nodding. “Okay, good. Let’s keep going. I have a feeling this isn’t going to get better.”

In the distance, she could still hear the noise of the attack drones — it was growing farther and farther away, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the attack was done. She wished she could’ve done… anything, really. She hated the feeling of powerlessness — it reminded her too much of where she’d come from. Reminded her too much of a time when she’d had to hide everything about herself for fear that anything would be used against her in the worst way possible.

“I’m okay… we should go…” Chixie could hear how out-of-breath she sounded already. They’d been running basically non-stop since they got out of the tunnels that led out of Everdim. Elwurd nodded and smiled grimly.

“You got it.”

Up ahead, there was a low, grassy hill covered in stubbly brush and not much else. Daraya was halfway up, and Chixie could see the figures of Tyzias, Stelsa, and Skylla already cresting the hill and disappearing on the other side. So it looked like the far side would at least temporarily shelter them from any more bombs.

Chixie turned to Cirava. “You doing okay?” They nodded quickly.

“Not ready for this,” they said, wheezing softly. “Not real great at running.” She could understand that, and she tried to smile encouragingly.

Daraya was already over the hill, and finally the last three managed to crest it. Chixie turned back again to look out over the city that she’d called home ever since she was a wiggler. It was burning, the light of the fires glowing softly—

* * *

—as she sat back in the corner of the bar nursing a beer and laughing at a bad joke her guitarist was telling. She was cute — Chixie appreciated just being able to look at her, honestly. Once _he_ had accused her of wanting to hop in a quadrant with her, but she was just pretty. That didn’t have to mean anything. The guitarist excused herself to go get another drink and Chixie smiled. This was nice — the bar had quieted down and the patrons that were left were either starting to pass out from drinking too much or getting caught up in their own personal conversations.

Chixie leaned forward on the table and smiled to herself. Life wasn’t good in general — it was, in fact, usually pretty bad. But this… this was one chance she had to be free. Even if it was just for a little while — a few moments free of the bullshit that usually followed her around. She took another sip of the beer. It was so cheap that it basically just tasted like slightly alcoholic water, but she didn’t mind. This was still the best she’d felt in a long time.

The man who sat down across from her looked only vaguely familiar. He had his hair shaved all down the sides, leaving only a long strip in the middle… and he wore a baggy sweatshirt plastered with a cerulean blood sign. Chixie raised an eyebrow.

“You slumming it down here with us commoners?” She asked quietly. It wasn’t unheard of — she’d seen a few of the higher bloods hanging out before. Usually ceruleans… they seemed to hit that sweet spot of being just high up enough to do pretty much what they wanted and just low enough that the higher bloods still shifted just a little bit of the shit their way. Probably just to remind them that they were never quite on the top.

He shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. Or maybe I wanted to talk to you specifically.”

She shook her head. “Not interested. Got my quadrants all filled.” _“Unfortunately,” she didn’t bother to add._

But he looked at her evenly and smiled. “No, no — that’s not what I meant at all. I’m good on the quadrant thing, seriously. This is… this is about something else. Your music, specifically… or, I guess, what you could be doing with it.”

Again, she shook her head. “Sorry, already got a producer too.” _“Unfortunately.” She frowned to herself and raised the beer bottle to her lips and took a quick sip. “You know how it goes.”_

 __

“Oh, I think I do. But no… this isn’t about that either.” That had her attention, just a little bit. What else did we want? Her music was on Chittr, so that wasn’t it. Did he just want to say he was a fan? Seemed like a pretty fucking shady way to do that.

__

“What do you think about the Empire?” He asked, leaning forward.

__

_Oh he’s a fucking cop, I got it._

__

She grinned. “You know how it is… we’ve all got to do our part for the Empire, no matter what. It’s our duty. Personally I’m looking forward to when I can join the Army in another sweep. That’ll be… great.” She felt like crying just thinking about it.

__

He nodded. “Yeah, okay, sure.” He placed a palmhusk on the table — but it didn’t look like any palmhusk that Chixie had ever seen before. “I get that I’m not just gonna earn your trust right off. So… let me show you something.” He slid the palmhusk over and pointed down at the screen. Trizza Tethis’ Chittr was showing on the screen.

__

“Yeah, yeah — all hail our new Empress… may her sweeps be many and her enemies fall et-cetera, et-cetera.” Chixie waved a finger in the air. “We good now? I kinda want to be alone for a while.”

__

The man smiled and picked up a portable computer he’d apparently had sitting on the floor next to him. “Of course.” He set up the computer and began typing. “What should she tell Alternia? I mean, it’ll only be up for a second before her people pull it, so keep your eyes open.”

__

Chixie laughed. “Yeah fucking right.” She sloshed the last of the beer around in the bottle and thought about it for a second. “Fine, make her say she’s a stupid piece of shit. Also, make it a fucking poll. I dunno, shit.” She laughed again.

__

He bent over the computer and began typing quickly, his face a picture of intense concentration. After a few minutes, he looked up. “Okay, get ready to watch her Chittr.” She quickly pulled up the Empress’ Chittr page (which she was legally mandated to follow).

__

He hit a button.

__

Chixie’s mouth hung open.

__

_  
_

_  
_

Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty V  
@realTrizzaTethis

Am I a stupid piece of shit?  
#FuckYouTrizza #RebellionNow

32%Yes

48%Yes, but second

20%Also Yes

611,071 votes • Final results  
♥856.2M ♦156.2M ♠95.5M 1:12 AM - 2P7D, 2nd Sweep HIIM

2.1M people are talking about this

“No… fucking… way,” Chixie set the beer bottle down on the table and stared at the post as the numbers ran up in real time. She couldn’t help herself — she was grinning from ear-to-ear. “This is real! You just did this!”

He shrugged. “Chittr security’s never been the best, and they don’t prioritize fixing things. I just slipped in a back door is all. Made a couple changes in the databases here and there.”

A minute later, the post suddenly disappeared. But it had been real.

“You’d be culled instantly for that,” she whispered. “They wouldn’t even bother to give you a trial. They’d wipe your blood name from the register for that.”

“Oh, yeah… I’m not in the register. I removed myself from that a sweep ago.” He leaned back in his chair, affecting an air of disinterest, but Chixie could feel the excitement coming off of him. “No big deal.”

She leaned in and grinned. “Oh, fuck that noise — it is very much a big fucking deal. Who _are_ you?!”

“Not so fast,” he said quickly. “You never told me how you feel about the Empire. Wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your chances at glory as a soldier for the Army, after all.”

She glared. “Fuck the Empire and everything they stand for. Highbloods are a bunch of murdering bastards.”

* * *

Chixie had just made it over the crest of the hill when the next explosion rocked the city. She didn’t hear the drones coming in this time… didn’t hear anything before the massive flare-up of the explosion. She had just enough time to throw herself down the other side of the embankment before the wave of over-pressure hit the top of the hill — strong enough this time to take a decent-sized chunk of the hilltop off and toss it into her hair.

The noise that followed was deafening.

“What the fuck was that?!” she shouted. In front of her, Elwurd was blinking and shaking her head.

“That…” Elwurd was trying to catch her breath. “That wasn’t a drone strike…”

They huddled in the lee of the hill and watched as Tyzias led the group in the front to the hillside. She slid down next to Elwurd and Chixie and ducked her head.

“That was an orbital strike,” Tyzias said quickly — there was fear in her eyes. “Planetary strike ordnance. That’s not something you use for precision targeting… it’s something you use to wipe a city off the fucking map.” She huddled down into the dirt as low as she could get. “We need to stay here until they’re finished. If one of those blasts catches us in the open… I mean, we’d probably _survive_ but it’s gonna suck a lot. More than zero chance we get knocked out and then we’ll just get picked apart by whatever drones they’re gonna send out looking for us.”

“Until they’re… finished?” Chixie could feel the bile boiling up in her stomach at what that meant.

“Yeah…” Tyzias looked like she was about to break down, if Chixie was being really honest about it. “Until they’re finished with the city…”

* * *

“Mallek,” he said quietly. “Mallek Adalov. I know you from your work… Chixie Roixmr… but we’ve never met personally.”

She shrugged. “Okay… you know, I believe that you’re not working for the fucking Empire. But so what? You can hack into the Chittr database and make Trizza say stupid shit about herself.”

“Well… probably not now. They’ll patch the security hole I used quickly enough. It’ll be another couple perigees before I can do that one again.”

“Fair enough. But… why tell me any of this? I’ve heard the rumors of a rebellion — everyone has — but what does that matter to me? How does what you can do to fuck with the Empire make a damn bit of difference?”

Mallek leaned in and smiled at her. “Chixie, you can do something I can’t do with stupid Chittr shitposting… you can touch people right in the blood pushers. The songs you sing… the words that you write… those have the potential to actually change people. To make them think about what’s really going on here.”

She started to respond, but stopped herself. _Guess I’ve never thought about it like that before._

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got my… producer to worry about,” Chixie didn’t even want to call him her “matesprit” because that word invoked a strong desire to vomit. “He’s not gonna want me singing some revolutionary songs on the open circuit.”

“Oh no, this would be a real underground kind of thing. A chance for you to make a difference… even if it’s only in a small way. If we keep doing those small things… if we keep chipping away, maybe we can make a fucking difference.”

* * *

They all kept their hands clapped over their ears, but it wasn’t helping very much. The sound of the roaring explosions kept coming — to the point where Chixie felt like she couldn’t remember a time when the world wasn’t on fire. Even miles from the explosions themselves and behind the hill, she could still feel the waves of high pressure crashing over them. At least it was tolerable… as long as she didn’t think too hard about it.

She found herself briefly wondering if _he_ was still in the city. She hoped so. Hoped that he was wiped off the face of Alternia forever. It would be a fitting end for someone whose whole existence had been defined by a constant search for fame and relevance.

All around her, the others kept themselves as low as they possibly could. The soft plains dirt smelled good — it was about the only good thing she could hold onto, so she focused on that scent and tried to sink back into her memories of a time when she still felt some kind of hope that the rebellion was anything other than doomed to failure.

* * *

It was another night and another shitty bar in the middle of the city. This gig hadn’t been advertised by fliers or on Chittr. This gig had been word-of-mouth around from trusted person to trusted person — a round-robin that let everyone know where and when, but was always extremely vague on the _what._ They all knew what it was about anyway. And _he_ thought that she was away at a practice.

Her band-mates would cover for her. _He_ never bothered to show up to the practices anyway. And if he did?

She’d deal with that when it happened. Right then, she was on stage and she was singing. But the song wasn’t the usual — didn’t have anything to do with relationships or personal heartache or anything else.

Instead, she was singing about the life of a nameless cog in the Alternian military machine. It was the first song she’d written that she felt actually _mattered._

And this time, when the applause started, she actually felt like it meant something.

* * *

Chixie lost track of time and couldn’t say how long it was before the noise stopped. An hour? Maybe not even that. But, eventually, the explosions had gone. when Chixie finally took her hands off her ears, only the eerie, whistling noise of the wind over the plains could be heard. She pushed herself up, still covered in plains dirt… she didn’t even bother to brush it off.

She didn’t go over the hill to look at the city. She already knew what she would find if she did.

“Are we all ok—” Tyzias cut herself off and shook her head, frowning. “Are we all here?” She turned her head and looked at each of them. When her eyes landed on Chixie, Chixie felt the overpowering urge to look away and she couldn’t even say why.

Daraya spoke next. “We need to keep moving. Jade caverns are only another half hour from here if we hurry. We need to get out of the open in case they send drones out again.” She didn’t need to bother saying anything else — anyone left alive in the area would be a prime candidate for the drones.

Tyzias’ face was set. “Yeah, I agree. We need to keep moving. Is everyone… are we all able to walk?” The others all nodded in agreement and Tyzias sighed. “Okay… let’s go, I guess.”

Together, they slowly set off again in the direction of the Southern Caverns.

* * *

“How’d it feel being up there for the first time?” Mallek asked. She’d been on stage hundreds of times before… but she knew exactly what he meant.

“Different,” she said, cautiously. “It felt… good. Like I was really talking to them about something real.”

Mallek grinned. “Yeah, it’s something, isn’t it?” But his face grew serious. “I should say… this isn’t a path that comes free from risk. The Empire mostly ignores underground artists because we’re not worth the effort… but if you get to the point where you become a real threat, they might try to shut you down. You’ve gotta be ready when the time comes. Can you do that?”

She looked back up at the stage that she’d just been bowing on, and a flash of realization hit her. _I’m part of this now._

“Yeah, I think I’m okay with that.”


	39. Quiet Home

the 6th night…

the Southern Caverns - 1659 local time (0759 AUT)

_I’m not strong enough for this… I’m not strong enough…_ The entire time that the roar of the distant explosions had been going off, Lynera had been clinging to Bronya and sobbing. Bronya held her quietly… and Lynera could see the tears in her eyes too, but she stayed quiet. Then, as suddenly as the noise had started, it was gone.

They had gone down to check on the grubs — they were crawling around and making the high-pitched mewling noises they made when they were upset. The lusii in the caverns were restless too, and Bronya helped the other jades keep them corralled while Lynera went around soothing grubs. Still crying quietly, she’d picked them up and pet them softly until they stopped whining. Then she’d set them down and move on to the next grub. Eventually, silence had settled in over the caverns again — a silence that was too long and too deep.

It was only then that Lynera had dared to make the trek up the passage to the entrance to the caverns. She didn’t know exactly what she was going to find when she got there, but she wasn’t stupid… there was only one place nearby that would make sense as a target for the Empire to bomb.

Halfway up the passageway, she heard someone coming up from behind her — a hand softly held her arm back and she turned to see Bronya. She looked like she’d been crying.

“You don’t have to go up there. Trust me,” she said quietly. But Lynera shook her head… and reached down to take Bronya’s hand.

“I can’t. Not right now…” she bowed her head and fought against the tears that were welling up in her own eyes. “I don’t want to go, but…”

Bronya looked sad — looked like she wanted more than anything to pull Lynera back and keep holding her. To keep her safe away from the world outside. Lynera thought that she would probably feel the same way about anyone under her care. _No, you don’t really believe that, do you. She… she cares about you._

“I’m sorry, Bronya.” But Bronya didn’t let go of her hand.

“We’ll go together then.”

They made the rest of the walk up to the entrance in silence. The whole way, Bronya never let go of Lynera’s hand. It was such a small act — such a little piece of the soft and gentle in such a harsh world — and Lynera felt her heart filling to burst to experience it. Whatever they found when they got to the surface, they wouldn’t have to face it alone.

At the head of the cavern, the passage looked out over the Southern Reaches. In the distance, they could see the City of Everdim — it was only a few short miles away. Lynera knew that Daraya and Lanque had snuck out there all the time. Gone to sample the various delights of the city that never truly rested.

A city that wasn’t there.

In the distance, by the horizon, an oily cloud of ink-black smoke drifted up, illuminated by the dull light of a thousand fires burning. It took Lynera a second to even process what she was seeing — to realize exactly what it was that the cloud of smoke represented. She fell to her knees, and the only reason she wasn’t screaming was because she was in shock.

“It’s… they…” Bronya’s voice next to her was halting and choked up. Lynera knelt in the soft dirt of the cavern passageway as Bronya crouched beside her and held her. There was nothing else they could do.

Lynera muttered under her breath — “Lanque… Daraya…” She thought back to the last message Daraya had sent her. The weird confession of a message that had seemed so utterly baffling, but now made sense. “They’re…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. If she ignored it — if she didn’t acknowledge it — then it wouldn’t become real. Daraya was still out there somewhere and the smoke rising on the horizon didn’t mean anything.

Bronya was crying next to her. She wanted more than anything to be able to comfort her, but what could she possibly say? What could she possibly _do?_ A million souls. A million people that had once lived a few hours’ walk from them were now gone. Maybe some of them had escaped… had fled when the first bombing started. Lynera hoped it was most of them. She hoped that the initial drone strike had sent the rest of the city fleeing en masse to… anywhere else.

She didn’t know if it was true, but she hoped.

* * *

Lynera wasn’t sure how long had passed before she started hallucinating, but when it happened it was vivid to the point of almost seeming real. A vision of Daraya walking toward her from over one of the low hills that dotted the Reaches, followed by a group of trolls that she mostly didn’t recognize. Why her subconscious decided to pick these forms to torment her with, Lynera didn’t know. She closed her eyes and focused.

When she opened her eyes, the figures were still approaching. She looked over at Bronya, who was staring.

“They’re… alive…” Bronya whispered. Lynera looked back — and this was no hallucination. It wasn’t a waking dream, but the bitter reality she saw in front of her. Daraya was covered in dirt — they all were. Lanque was there as well… and a troll that looked a lot like the one who had been on the video broadcast.

As the group approached, Lynera heard Bronya mutter something else — “Elwurd…”

* * *

It was another ten minutes before the group actually came close to where Lynera and Bronya were still kneeling. They didn’t break into a run or come shouting toward the caverns — they all looked too exhausted for that.

Daraya walked right up to Lynera, knelt down in front of her… and wrapped her into a hug.

“God, you stupid…” Daraya sighed and it seemed like whatever energy she had died halfway through the sentence. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She held Lynera close. Lynera closed her eyes. This wasn’t exactly what she’d expected, but she wasn’t going to say anything right now. It seemed like Daraya had already been through enough hell. They could have whatever awkward conversation about their relationship and Daraya’s extremely suggestive pitch advances later.

Daraya let go of her and stood up slowly, taking a step back. “They know about the egg.” It was all she said — all she had to say. Lynera nodded and gestured toward Bronya.

“She knows too, now.” Seeing the look of fear in Daraya’s eyes, Lynera continued. “It’s fine. She doesn’t want to destroy it any more than we do.”

Lynera heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see an unfamiliar woman. Her first impression was that this was someone who looked _tired_ in a way that seemed down into her very bones. The unfamiliar woman frowned.

“I hate to break this up, but we need to get underground and we need to talk to whoever’s in charge. Where’s Bronya Ursama?”

Bronya cleared her throat right back, matching the stranger’s perfunctory tone beat-for-beat. “I’m Bronya Ursama, head of this jade cavern. Who are you, exactly?”

She heard the stranger sigh. “Tyzias Entykk… technically a Neophyte in the Legiscorpus although that’s… complicated. We need to talk to you.”

Bronya frowned and bristled at this. “Surely you know that 1 — there is a concord that prevents interference with the jade caverns by the Imperial military, and 2 — the Legiscorpus is absolutely included in this.”

“I’m not with the fucking Empire anymore,” Tyzias said slowly. “Which is why we need to talk to you.”

* * *

A half hour later, they were gathered in one of the meeting rooms in the caverns — Lynera, Bronya, Daraya, Tyzias, Elwurd, and a woman named Stelsa Sezyat who was Tyzias’ matesprit and another former member of the Legiscorpus. While the others from their group made themselves as comfortable as possible in the caverns, they met to discuss what had happened to Everdim.

Tyzias sighed — not the most encouraging way to start a conversation that Lynera had ever heard, but it seemed to fit the circumstances. “There’s a lot going on here… but the short version is that we might be all that’s left of this whole rebellion thing. There were some highbloods helping… a man named Galekh and a young lady named Amisia… fuck knows if they’re even still alive after Everdim was…” Tyzias trailed off — they all knew what had happened.

The other teal — Stelsa — reached out and took Tyzias’ hand. Her voice was soft, but insistent, when she spoke. “Zizi, why don’t you take a break? I’ll explain it to the people.” Tyzias nodded gratefully and took her seat.

Stelsa stood up, straightened her dirt-stained Legiscorpus-standard blazer, and nodded. “We appear to be perilously short on hope these days… but we have at least one piece of information we can’t fail to act on.” She nodded to the others. “One of the rebellion — a man naked Mallek Adalov — had been captured by Empire and brought to the Legiscorpus orbital flagship, most likely to be tried and eventually executed. We want to rescue him.”

Lynera stared at the teals, her mouth hanging open. “This is… this is insane! How would you even _get to_ the ship, let alone rescue anyone and come back from it?”

Stelsa nodded. “I can understand your skepticism. However… we have a plan.” Lynera kept staring at the teal — she couldn’t imagine what possible plan would accomplish what they were describing.

Bronya spoke up — “And what exactly is this plan that will 1 — allow you to rescue your friend and 2 — allow you survive?”

“We’re going to ask you to do something a bit… unusual,” Stelsa said quietly. “It’ll be… a lot.”

Bronya said nothing, but she nodded.

“We need you to move the caverns. All of the people… all of the grubs and the lusii. I know it’s a lot to ask, but we know from talking to your fellow jades that it’s possible. We know there are other ways out of this cavern. Permanent ways out, even.”

“That is… technically true,” Bronya said. “But how would it help you rescue your friend and why would we do it?”

“Because this cavern’s days are numbered. The Empire will take time to put the pieces together, but they _will_ put the pieces together. Even if the secret of the fuschia egg never gets out, they may very well decide that the only other key landmark in the vicinity of Everdim needs to follow suite in its fate.” She stared meaningfully at all of them in turn. “You can either relocate the cavern to another location — preferably a secret one — or you can risk the wrath of the Empire.”

Lynera saw Bronya glare and shake her head. “Again, I don’t understand how this helps.”

Tyzias spoke up next, from her seat. “We’re going to let the Empire know that the last few rebels are hiding out in these caverns.”

Lynera stared at her. “Why… why would you do that?!”

Tyzias smiled — a grim, tired expression that Lynera could do without having to see again. “Because we need a fucking ride up to the Iustitia. The only way we’re getting that is if we can slip in behind their lines during a ground strike. We can easily claim we were in Everdim investigating the leads into the rebels when the bombing hit. It’s not even entirely a _lie._ ”

“What about when you’re on board the ship?” Bronya asked, her tone skeptical.

Stelsa answered that question quickly — “We have friends on board who will help. Let us worry about that part.”

Bronya leaned forward and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “I’ll need time to consider this. Please… stay the day. Rest. I’ll have my answer in the evening.” Tyzias didn’t look happy at this answer… but she also looked like she understood it was the best she was going to get.

* * *

the 6th day…

the Southern Caverns - 0317 local time (1817 AUT)

Lynera had spent the rest of the early morning with Bronya in her chambers — Lynera supposed at some point she’d have to start calling them _their_ chambers. It was… different. Both of them were still numb from what they’d seen, and they both wanted to find some kind of solace in the raw physicality of their shared intimacy.

It had worked… sort of… for a while. Eventually, they had ended up just holding each other. Then they’d gone into the sopor and held each other some more as they both tried to drift off and forget. Bronya had fallen asleep first, and Lynera cradled her in her arms for a long time and wondered what was going to happen next.

If they moved the caverns — and the teal was right that it was a thing they could technically _do_ — then their whole life would be uprooted. They would have to establish a new cavern… to build a whole new life somewhere. The lusii could carry much of what they had, but not all of it. They would lose knowledge — some of the books in the library would have to be left behind in order to facilitate travelling with all the grubs and everything needed to support them. Moving the Mother Grub would be… it might prove difficult.

Lynera had eventually slipped off to a deep, dreamless sleep. If she’d been aware of it, she would’ve been grateful for the momentary respite from everything that was happening around her. Never in her life had she expected, let alone wanted, any of this. She wanted to continue with her duty to the caverns — to continue to help Bronya out and build the relationship that they were now establishing. She’d even be willing to talk to Daraya about their (apparently mutual) pitch feelings for each other.

Anything to have life be able to continue on as normal. But that world was gone — lit on fire by the Empire.

For a long time, Lynera slept.

* * *

When she woke, it was because a very panicked-looking Bronya was shaking her awake. Lynera blinked sleepily and sat up in the recupercoon, looking over at Bronya. She was shaking — and she looked… terrified? Lynera wasn’t sure if it was the right word, but it seemed to fit well enough.

“We need to do it,” she said softly. “We need to move the cavern. It’s… 1 — it’s the only way to…” She didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she swallowed heavily and shook her head.

“Bronya, what do you mean? What’s going on?” Lynera wasn’t sure why she was saying this.

Bronya reached out and took both of Lynera’s hands in hers. She cupped them softly and there was a pleading look on her face. “Please… please don’t ask me to explain. You’ll think I’m crazy. Or it won’t happen the way it’s supposed to. But we _have_ to move the caverns. We _have_ to support the teal’s plan.”

“But _why?_ ” Lynera asked. “Why do we have to uproot everything and risk so much on the word of a stranger? A member of the Legiscorpus who isn’t even supposed to be here in the caverns.”

Bronya shook her head. “No. Not on the word of the teal.”

“What then?!” Lynera insisted.

Bronya’s response was simple, but it never made sense of Lynera. No matter how much she pressed her on it, it wasn’t something she would ever explain. Lynera could never understand, but she _did_ trust Bronya, so she eventually just stopped asking.

Bronya spoke quietly, almost as if she were talking to herself. “Because the clouds are never wrong.”


	40. Escape a Few Minutes at a Time

the 6th day…

the Southern Caverns - 0129 local time (1629 AUT)

Skylla sat in the entrance to the caverns, safely back out of the day’s light, and she watched the smoke as it continued to rise from whatever was left of the City of Everdim in the distance. Elwurd sat next to her. The two women had the same hollow look on their faces.

“Everyone I knew…” Elwurd muttered to herself for what was probably the fifth time in the past half hour. “They’re all dead.” In spite of what they’d shared before, Skylla knew nothing about this woman before a few basic pieces of what she’d gotten from their conversation before. Still, she didn’t want her to be unhappy… an absurd thought, given what they had all just witnessed.

Skylla reached out and held Elwurd’s hand silently… and she didn’t say a word as Elwurd interlaced their fingers and squeezed slightly. It was such a strangely intimate gesture from someone who she barely even knew… but she supposed that strange things were wont to happen in this world, sometimes.

“There was someone I was seeing in there… in the teal section of town.” Elwurd’s voice was hollow, almost brittle. “Someone I really liked, actually. She was… she’s… it doesn’t matter anymore.” Elwurd looked down at the ground and shook her head.

Skylla wished she had something to say — some magical phrase that would make everything better. That was absurd — this wasn’t a situation where words were going to bring things back around. Not after what had been done. So instead of saying anything, she sat there and held Elwurd’s hand and wondered how she’d even gotten there.

“I… wish I’d spent more time with her,” Elwurd said softly. “Just another person I hooked up with sometimes except… except she’s fucking dead and I really miss her.” She laughed softly — the tears were rolling down her cheeks. “And I’m being a stupid wiggler about it, right? Gotta stay tough. Everyone’s always gotta stay tough. No other way to live.”

Skylla muttered a response — “Ain’t no way to live.”

Elwurd didn’t say anything — didn’t directly acknowledge what she’d said — but she squeezed Skylla’s hand and leaned into her shoulder. Elwurd had her eyes closed and she looked, to Skylla at least, almost painfully vulnerable. It didn’t matter — Skylla felt the same way. She hadn’t known anyone in particular in Everdim, but the city… she couldn’t imagine the mindset that would wipe that many folks out. For what? Vengeance? Retribution?

_Of course you can imagine it — you’ve lived in it your whole damn life._

“Would you tell me to fuck off if I said I wanted to spent the day with you,” Elwurd said in a pleading whisper. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Skylla sighed heavily and leaned her head over, resting against Elwurd’s shaved hair. “I don’t plan to tell you to fuck off. I can’t promise anything specific to y’all, but I will stay with you if you want.” _Because you don’t want to be alone anymore either._

“Yeah, okay. That’s all I really want right now.” Elwurd let out a small, strangled sob. “Did I have something to do with this?”

“Why in the hell would you have anything to do with this?” Skylla tried to keep the utter bafflement out of her voice… she figured she was probably at least a little bit successful.

Elwurd shrugged. “I don’t know. Because I was part of the rebellion in whatever small way. Because I helped Galekh gather people and… I don’t know.”

“You’re not responsible for what any of them do.”

Then there was a long pause, broken only by the quiet sound of Elwurd crying. But Skylla didn’t cry — not then. It wasn’t that she didn’t _want_ to or didn’t _feel_ like it, but because she just didn’t have the energy for it.

“Elwurd,” Skylla said softly, “why don’t we go back inside and try to get some sleep. No point in continuing to look out on this for hours.”

Elwurd sniffled thickly and nodded. “You’re right. Okay… let’s go…”

* * *

the Southern Caverns - 0108 local time (1608 AUT)

_I don’t want to see it anymore. I don’t want to see all those people dying. I don’t want to think about it… I don’t want to think about any of it!_

Lynera pressed herself up against Bronya in her chambers. Up against the bookshelf — naked skin against naked skin. It was something she was still getting used to. Something that felt…

In that moment, she wasn’t sure _how_ it felt. Physically it was wonderful, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. _So why are you doing this right now?_

Because it was a chance to not think, even for a small moment. Bronya leaned forward and kissed her, pushing her head back and letting a small moan slip out. That helped a little — for that second, Lynera focused on how it felt… how it tasted… everything except the world around her and what was happening in it.

She ran her hands up and down Bronya’s back… grasping in a way that she would’ve once worried was too desperate — too needy. But Bronya responded by wrapping her own arms around Lynera’s back and grabbing her shoulders… pressed up against her and it felt good. _Please let this work… please let this work…_

The kiss ended and she opened her eyes to see Bronya looking at her, eyes glistening. She smiled — a smile that mixed so much pain in with the expression to the point where it was all that Lynera could see.

“I’m sorry,” Bronya said quietly. “I just want…” She didn’t finish the sentence. _To forget. To escape._ Bronya closed her eyes and sighed. “Just to get away from this for a while.”

She pressed her hips into Lynera’s and Lynera heard a soft noise of approval slip out of her own lips. Biting her lip, she tried to concentrate on that feeling — on that mounting tide of emotion and physical sensation that would become so overwhelming that it would blot out her ability to consciously think about anything else for a few dozen seconds…

A few dozen seconds of freedom with the woman she loved.

It was worth it. She kissed Bronya again, trying her best not to think about anything else. She was caught up in the moment and for that brief time, nothing else would matter. Not the horrors of everything she’d witnessed. Not the cold cruelty of the world outside. Nothing.

_Don’t I deserve to be happy? To be soft? To be vulnerable?_

_Don’t both of us deserve that?_

A shiver ran up her back and Lynera bit down on her lip again to stop herself from crying out. She realized that she was digging her nails into Bronya’s back.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. But Bronya didn’t seem to mind — she tilted her head and kissed Lynera’s neck softly.

A few dozen seconds more.

* * *

the Southern Caverns - 0413 local time (1913 AUT)

Tyzias sat alone at the desk with her head in her hands and wished that there was literally any other option. Any other way to fight back against the thing so monstrous that it had chosen to destroy an entire city full of life rather than entertain the idea of dissent. For what? To send a message to the rebellion? Or just because it was simpler to sweep the city away rather than bother to try to pick through what was happening on the planet.

After all, the galaxy was vast and there were so many planets. So many that had Alternians on them — a vast empire that spanned light-sweeps in every direction. An empire that had conquered the reaches of void-space and mastered the art of seeding worlds with life. An empire that was fueled and fed by the bodies and minds of its own citizens.

It was such an impossibly large task. The idea that anything they were doing would have even the slightest effect on the fate of the Empire was laughable. Tyzias remembered _why_ she’d stopped reading those forbidden revolutionary texts… because the idea was absurd on the face of it.

But maybe they could make a small difference — do one thing that would help one person. Maybe that wouldn’t shift the tide of the rebellion… but it would help at least one person who wasn’t herself. Maybe that was worth it.

ferventnihilist began chatting with bettercallgorgor at 0415 AST (1915 AUT)

Tyzias

gorgor, please tell mmmme that things haven’t commmmpletely fallen apart up there

Tagora

Oh, you mean other than the fact that we just wiped an entire city off the face of Alternia? *_________

Tyzias

fuck   
i knowwww that   
please

Tagora

They’re going to be holding a trial for Mallek Adalov and they’re going to be doing it soon. You’ve got maybe another cycle to figure your shit out. *_________

Assuming you’ve got some kind of plan. *_________

Tyzias

i do   
mmmmaybe not a great plan, but it’s a plan

Tagora

Good. Because I’m the one they want heading up the prosecution for the trial. *_________

Tyzias

wwwwait wwwwhat?!

Tagora

Yeah. The head Subjugglator told me himself… and even I’m not stupid enough to say no to Marvus Xoloto. *_________

Tyzias

but wwwwhy you? wwwwhen’s the last timmmme you even ran a trial?

Tagora

Look, I have no idea. But I’m telling you… so you can do whatever you want with that information. Hopefully more than I can. *_________

Tyzias

so you remmmmemmmmber wwwwhat you said about being on the receiving end of a ground strike?

Tagora

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re seriously going with that plan? *_________

Tyzias

mmmmaybe   
depends on a couple things dowwwwn here but… that’s the best plan i’ve got

unless you have a better one

Tagora

Not even a little bit. It’s a terrible idea, but if you’re dead set on this then what the hell can I say to stop you? *_________

Just be warned — something is going on up here, and I’m not entirely sure what. Something between the High Imperator and Marvus Xoloto. I don’t know what’s going to happen but… I feel like you’re on a very strict timeline at this point. *_________

Tyzias

thanks

hey, gorgor, gonna ask you sommmmething randommmm…   
wwwwhy do you keep helping us? wwwwhy not just refuse to help galekh and keep yourself awwwway frommmm all of this?

no offense but you alwwwways seemmmmed like the type to favor self-preservation over doing the right thing

Tagora

Let me ask you a question in response, Neophyte Tyzias Entykk of the Legiscorpus Investigative Division…   
  
Can you look at what the Empire did to that city and tell me that helping them would be an act of self-preservation? *_________

Tyzias hadn’t even noticed that Stelsa had gotten up and walked up behind her, wrapped in a fluffy jade-green robe she’d found in a closet somewhere. She put her hands on Tyzias’ shoulders and leaned in to kiss her head by the base of one of her horns.

“You couldn’t sleep, I assume?”

Tyzias shook her head. “I kept having nightmares about the city.” Stelsa leaned over and wrapped her arms around Tyzias’ shoulders, drawing her in tightly. Stelsa smelled a little bit like the sopor and a little bit like… just like Stelsa. Tyzias smiled and wished she didn’t have to worry about anything else.

“It’s a long way from studying for the entrance exams, isn’t it?” Stelsa asked softly. Tyzias reached up and hooked a hand on her arm and nodded silently.

“I’m so scared, Stels,” Tyzias said. “So scared that none of this is going to work. That I’ll just end up responsible for more people getting killed. I can’t do this anymore — I can’t be the one who’s responsible for who lives and who dies. I never wanted that in the first place.”

Stelsa leaned her head up against her matesprit and sighed. “You’re not responsible for who lives and who dies. You’re just trying to help whoever you can. Wasn’t that what you always believed in? You think I never noticed the books you read? That I never noticed when you stopped reading them?”

“I thought I could just… I don’t know. I thought we could just live things out. Just do our job in the background and be able to have some kind of life together. Let the Empire think we were in pity and nothing else, and no one would ask us too much.”

“You’d be unhappy.” It wasn’t a question. “You’d wake up one day and you’d realize that you sold out what you believed in for a chance to try to live a comfortable life. And then… you’d be unhappy. Zizi… I’ll always be here for you. I would’ve been there for you no matter what happens but…”

She stopped, and Tyzias could hear her choke back a sob.

“I don’t think I could bear it… to look in your eyes on the day you finally realized what you’d done.”

She was right. Maybe it would’ve been a long time — maybe sweeps and sweeps of domestic oblivion. But there would come a day when she couldn’t stop the thoughts anymore — where she would wonder why she hadn’t stood for something other than trying to run away.

And on that day, she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself anymore.


	41. Liar's Chess

the 6th day…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 1832 local time

Polypa wasn’t sure how things were going to play out between Marvus and Petrus, but she also knew now that there wasn’t really going to be any other outcome. Either the whole thing was going to work the way Marvus intended… or the High Imperator was going to kill both of them on the spot. After what happened to Everdim, she wasn’t sure she cared which.

Petrus was furious — he wasn’t shouting, but the tone in his voice was dangerous. Polypa had learned to listen for it. “Subjugglator Xoloto — is there a specific reason you decided to commandeer my executive officer for several hours when she was scheduled to be on the bridge?”

But Marvus wasn’t fazed — in fact, he was smiling. That same easy smile that he always wore on _Slam or Get Culled_ … “Don’t you worry your pan about that, Petrus. We got this shit on lock and you’re gonna lend me Miss Polypa here for a minute.”

“Subjugglator… please explain why I shouldn’t have both of you shot?”

Marvus didn’t respond right away, but the smile never faltered.

* * *

Marvus Xoloto was standing in her doorway.

“Hey, girl… can I come in real quick? We need to have us a little talk bout some of what you’ve been up to lately.” He had that same easy smile that he always wore on _Slam or Get Culled_ and it made her blood run cold.

“Subjugglator Xoloto! Sir… I’m… sir, how can I help you?” She could feel the panic starting — the rush of adrenaline that was surging from her blood pusher to every corner of her body. She needed to control it.

“Well now, I ain’t gonna sit here and talking the _hallway!_ You plannin to invite me in?” The smile darkened a bit — it wasn’t a request on his part. Polypa nodded quickly and stepped back to let Marvus inside — he shut the door quickly behind him and walked into Polypa’s quarters to take a seat behind her desk.

“This _is_ nice, isn’t it?” He grinned. “Not as nice as my own place, of course, but girl… you’ve got a real good thing goin on here! Helpin the High Imperator run things and conquer the world and all that hoofbeast shit. Must be a good deal.”

She shrugged, still trying to control the panic. “Yes, sir. I appreciate the opportunity I’ve been given.”

Marvus pursed his lips and nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, yeah. I get it, girl. Real rags to riches story, yeah? Kinda thing we market for _Slam_ cept it ain’t rigged as fuck. Well…” he winked. “Maybe this game is a _little_ bit rigged. But still, good thing.”

Polypa leaned up against the wall and nodded. “Yes, sir. Like I said, I appreciate it.”

“Course you do. You’d be a damn fool not to.” Marvus looked directly at her and his smile vanished in an instant. “Which is why I’m wonderin why you been talking to known revolutionary elements.”

She felt the ice wash through her veins.

* * *

“Oh, I’m just doin my part as a loyal Subjugglator of this great Empire,” Marvus said, bowing at the waist and making a little flourish with his hands. “But I humbly request that I be allowed to borrow the services of Miss Goezee here while we conduct the trial of that notorious rebel leader you got stashed away.”

Petrus narrowed his eyes. “Subjugglator… your antics do not override my need for qualified personnel… and Command Sergeant Goezee has been a consistently reliable executive officer.” If it had been coming from someone who wasn’t a mass murderer a billion times over, Polypa thought that it might feel like high praise. As it was, it made her feel sick.

Marvus clicked his tongue. “Ah, yeah yeah. Course… course. I completely understand. However…” He took out a palmhusk and began tapping on it quickly before continuing. “Thing is, I’ve got a trial to oversee and I need a few folks that can really move. My girl Polypa here’s one of ‘em, you feel me?”

“I will have to insist that you leave my bridge, Subjugglator,” Petrus said through gritted teeth. “And leave Command Sergeant Goezee alone to do her job.”

But Marvus didn’t move… and he was still smiling.

* * *

“I don’t know what you’re tal—” She didn’t even get the words out before Marvus shook his head and interrupted her.

“Girl, don’t try to sell me on that shit. I’ve had my eyes on Gor-gor Gorjek for a sweep now. Him and his pitchmate have been up to all _kinds_ of stuff together. And now you’re going and talkin to him and I can’t see how that’s a coincidence.”

She was about to protest — about to try to make up some excuse for why she’d been talking to Tagora. All she needed was a convincing-enough explanation that would divert the Subjugglator’s attention somewhere else.

But he wasn’t stupid, and this was a test. This was designed to figure something else out… something he didn’t already know about her.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, her voice low and tired.

“Well now, that’s a _good_ question, girl. What does _anyone_ want?” He grinned at her and slapped a palm down on the desk, causing Polypa to jump. “Me? I want a nice, big, flashy trial and I need a few folks to help out with that.” He leaned forward. “You down to help?”

“What?” Polypa felt genuine confusion flooding over her — the last thing she expected was for this to have to do with a show trial. “Sir…”

“Ah, cut that _sir, yes, sir_ shit out. Call me _Marvus,_ girl. And come on and let me talk to you about my vision.”

* * *

“You’re not going to leave?” Petrus growled. “Very well.” He looked up. “Security! Remove Subjugglator Xoloto from this bridge.”

Marvus raised an eyebrow. “You gonna break the old codes, Petrus? Subjugs ain’t gonna like that.”

Petrus glared at him. “I don’t give a fuck about the Subjugglators. Your very existence is an anachronism that causes me nothing but problems. As if these ridiculous show trials serve any purpose whatsoever.”

“I mean…” Marvus looked absently at his palmhusk and tapped the screen twice. “It makes _her_ happy.”

As if on cue — and Polypa suspected it was probably timed very much intentionally — the main screen in the bridge lit up.

Staring down on the bridge was the larger-than-life face of Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty Trizza Tethis.

* * *

“You see, girl, I’ve got a real good idea of how I want this to go. Big, showy kinda thing… really hammer home the whole idea that we got this rebellion under control.”

Polypa wasn’t sure that the phrase “under control” would be what she would use to describe the situation. “Sir—” she saw his frown and stopped— “Marvus. The High Imperator just leveled a city to destroy the last suspected rebel settlement.”

“That he did.” Marvus’ voice was dead even and his expression impossible to read. “All the more reason we need this, girl.”

Polypa had no idea how a show trial was going to make a bit of difference, but she decided she wasn’t going to say anything. Instead, she just nodded along.

“You see — I think that Petrus is getting a little bit too heavy handed here.” Describing the destruction of most of a major city as heavy handed seemed to be an understatement that verged on the obscene, but again Polypa kept her mouth shut. “I think it’s time we reminded him that the Subjugglators still exist, regardless of the fate of so many of my righteous siblings.” Marvus frowned deeply, and Polypa couldn’t help but feel a little bit sorry for him.

“So here’s the plan,” he said.

* * *

Polypa had never seen a trace of fear on the face of High Imperator Petrus before, but she saw it now. As soon as the Empress’ face appeared on the screen, he dropped to one knee and crossed his right arm over his blood pusher in a salute.

“Your Impassioned Imperious Majesty!” He kept his head down.

The voice that came in over the bridge speakers was oddly musical. She posted almost unending content on Chittr, but it was never anything that showed her speaking. Polypa was convinced that she must have a massive, booming voice. Instead, the sound was quite pleasant to hear. Polypa thought that made it even worse.

“Oh hey, Petrus. High Imperator blah blah fucking whatever.” It looked like the Empress was on her palmhusk. “I hear you’re trying to give my favorite subjug-slash-video host some kidna bullshit. That true?”

“Empress,” Petrus’ voice was low — and Polypa was realizing that his disdain for the Empress was largely for show. “Subjugglator Xoloto has decided to take some of my command staff for use in a show trial.”

“Yeah, duh,” The Empress rolled her eyes. “Obvs he fucking did — I told him he could.”

“Your Majesty?”

The Empress put down her palmhusk and glared. “What’s the matter? I want a fucking trial and I’ma get a fucking trial. You know how much you shook folks up with your stupid dumbass bullshit?”

Petrus bristled at that. “My Empress, rest assured that I only did what was necessary to bring this rebellion to heel—” The Empress cut him off with a laugh.

“Oh fuck that’s good. Personally I’m don’t G-A-fuck if you blast half the fucking planet, but you’re making me look bad and I’m done with your bullshit. I want a nice trial — nice and showy. You give Marvie everything he wants and make this real good. And you show up and you play nice and do all the fancy high Alternian traditional bullshit. You do all that for me, ‘k?”

She grinned broadly. “Or I’ll have your fucking skin peeled off while you’re still alive. ‘k? Byeeeeee.” She waved to the camera and the feed cut out. Polypa could see the High Imperator shaking from his spot on the floor. Slowly, he pushed himself back to standing — and he looked different than she’d ever seen him before.

He looked afraid.

* * *

The plan was a simple enough one — Marvus was going to have his trial. But what he said next had Polypa wondering what the actual plan was… the part that he wasn’t telling anyone else.

“I figure I need my dream team for this trial,” Marvus grinned broadly. “My cast of misfits an rejects and whatnot.” He drummed his fingers on the desk, as if he was thinking. Polypa didn’t believe it for a second — he knew exactly what he was going to say.

“So,” he said after a minute, “I figure I need a good prosecutor. And our good friend Inquisitor Gorjek should fit the bill. Command Sergeant… why, I see you standing in as the Sergeant-at-Arms for the High Court. Gotta have someone to haul away the prisoner in a dramatic fashion and you’ve got a good, menacing way about you when you want.”

He winked at her. “Thing is… we need a couple folks to testify as to Mallek’s crimes. A couple real top-notch folks who can talk about the devastation that the rebellion is letting loose on Alternia.” He snapped his fingers. “Well now, I’ve got it! Why now bring those two Legiscorpus investigators on. They’ve been following this from the bombing.”

“Sir—” Polypa shook her head. “You mean Tyzias Entykk and Stelsa Sezyat? They’re currently listed as missing in action after the bombing of Everdim. They were both conducting investigations in the city at the time.”

Marvus had that smile on his face again — a smile that Polypa was quickly learning meant he knew more than he was saying. “Oh, I think we can maybe find us a way. You trust me, right, Polypa?”

_Not even a little bit._ “Yes, sir.”

He clicked his tongue again, chiding her. “Ah no no, I told you about that whole _sir_ thing.”

* * *

“Fine,” Petrus said under his breath. “If my Empress decrees that you will have your trial, then you will have your trial. Rest assured that you will see no interference from me. In fact…” Petrus visibly cringed. “In fact, I will take my place of high honor on the tribunal next to you, Subjugglator Xoloto. I hope this demonstrates to our Empress my suitable commitment to Alternian… pageantry.”

Marvus winked and shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” He turned to Polypa. “Come on, girl — we got a couple stops to make… couple folks we need to talk to.”

Whistling to himself, Marvus turned to walk off the bridge. Polypa followed closely after, leaving High Imperator Petrus scowling at his command console.


	42. Change of Venue

the 7th night…

the Southern Caverns - 0619 local time (2119 AUT)

Tyzias woke up early that evening and went to go find Bronya — the matriarch of the cavern had had plenty of time to think on their plan, and now it was time to make a decision. Either she would be on board with what seemed to be their only realistic option to rescue Mallek or… Tyzias wasn’t sure what else she could do. The options at that point seemed to be either ignoring the will of the jades and just slipping the information to the Empire _anyway_ or letting Mallek go through his trial and ultimately be executed for mostly-imagined crimes. Neither of those seemed like good options to Tyzias.

Her plan didn’t seem like a very good option either, if she was being honest, but it seemed slightly _less_ bad than the alternatives. That was about where she was those days — less bad was good enough and good enough was as good as it was going to get.

It didn’t take long to find Bronya — she was sitting in a small room next to a large pool full of sopor. In the pool, a couple of grubs paddled around. She looked up when she heard Tyzias come in.

“I suppose you’re here for your answer.” It wasn’t a question. Tyzias nodded, although she was feeling a little bit self-conscious.

“Yeah… sorry, but this is kinda a time-sensitive thing at this point.” She saw Lynera frown and shake her head.

“I know. And also… I know that we need to do this. We need to move from these caverns. It’s… important.” She didn’t seem to be focused on the part where Tyzias was talking about calling the Empire down on their position. “I’ve already asked for the preparations to be made. I would ask you to please wait until we’re ready before you act on your plan.”

“Yeah, sure… although this _is_ something with an expiring timer.” Tyzias felt like an ass having to push her on this, but it was still the truth.

Bronya glared. “Neophyte, please don’t act like I’m 1 — stupid, 2 — naive, or 3 — trying to get your friend killed. I’m aware of the constraints in place and am trying my best to work within them. I have far more than a single person I have to look out for here.” The look on her face said that it would be extremely unwise to try to start an argument about any of the technicalities, so Tyzias simply nodded.

“Thanks,” Tyzias said. “I… I genuinely appreciate this.”

* * *

Once she was alone again, Tyzias immediately took out the palmhusk and contacted Tagora — it was important that he understand the timing on this next part.

ferventnihilist began chatting with bettercallgorgor at 0627 AST (2127 AUT)

Tyzias

okay gorgor, wwwwe’re good on this end   
do not mmmmake a mmmmove until i let you knowwww it’s good   
i’mmmm not going to have the blood of anymmmmore people on mmmmy fucking hands

Tagora

So, about all of this… *_________

Tyzias

if you’re getting cold feet about this nowwww i’ll fucking kill you mmmmyself   
after everything i’ve been through i don’t wwwwant to hear it

Tagora

No, you don’t get it.   
Something’s happened up here. *_________

You’re going to be brought in to help with the trial. *_________

Tyzias

WWWWHAT?!

you wwwwant to run that one by mmmme again because i guess mmmmy eyes are just fucking broken nowwww

Tagora

Galekh is on his way to get you.   
  
It’s a long story, but the short version is… Galekh’s making a move here. No one knows that you’ve been with the rebels — they all think you were still running your investigation. *_________

Tyzias

and stels? no one knowwwws she just wwwwalked the fuck out?

Tagora

Look, there’s something you need to know — that clown, Marvus, he’s got something going on. I don’t know WHAT but there is something going on up here.   
  
He pulled weight with the Empress to get the High Imperator to let him hold his trial. *_________

Tyzias

so wwwwhat the hell are you telling mmmme here?!

Tagora

I’m telling you and Stelsa to pack your bags, because Galekh’s gonna be coming to pick you up in a couple hours. *_________

Tyzias

this sounds like a fucking trap

Tagora

Oh yeah, because putting the jade cavern on the Empire’s strike list was a really great fucking plan. That definitely would’ve worked exactly as intended without any negative consequences whatsoever. *_________

Tyzias

okay so it wwwwasn’t a great plan   
but at least it didn’t rely on wwwwhatever the fuck’s happening here

Tagora

Tyzias, this thing is already in motion. The clown’s holding his trial and you’re coming here to help. *_________

Tyzias

wwwwhy didn’t you say sommmmething earlier?

Tagora

I just found out myself. Things are moving fast up here and I don’t like it.   
  
I hope I don’t need to tell you to be careful. *_________

Tyzias

you too, sore-gor

Tagora

Tyzias, I’m ALWAYS careful. It’s how I’ve gotten by for as long as I have. *_________

* * *

Tyzias went to find Stelsa first, then went back to the room with the sopor pool to talk to Bronya again. The matriarch was still there, holding a small gold blood grub who seemed more interested in chewing on her fingers than anything else. She held them delicately at a distance, taking the nips in stride and humming softly.

“You’re back,” she said. “I thought I’d already told you _yes._ ”

Tyzias frowned. “Yeah… slightly change of plans. One of our…” she wasn’t sure what to call Galekh, exactly. He was the one coordinating these attacks against the Empire, but something still felt off about him. “One of our allies is going to be coming here soon. They know Stels and I are here, but not the rebels.”

She was expecting Bronya to be upset — or at least annoyed that the plan was shifting rapidly… but she just shook her head. “I… I thought this part might not happen. I should’ve known better.” She smiled to herself and set the grub down in their pool, letting them splash around angrily. Bronya looked up at Tyzias.

“Make your preparations and I’ll make mine.”

“I mean, you don’t have to move the cavern now, right?” Tyzias felt a crawling sense of unease even as she said it, and Bronya’s enigmatic expression wasn’t helping. She looked from Tyzias to Stelsa and back again.

“Oh no, it’s very important that we be ready to move everyone. Just in case.” Seeing Tyzias’ face, she smiled. “Don’t worry… it won’t affect the timing of what you’re going to be doing.”

There was a knock on the doorframe and Tyzias turned to see the other jade blood — Lynera — standing there glaring.

“Bronya, are these two bothering you?” she asked, her face lined with suspicion. She leaned forward and glared at them. “I can get them out of here if you need me to.”

“It’s fine, darling,” she said softly. The _darling_ didn’t escape Tyzias. “I think they were just on their way to meet someone. Right?”

Tyzias nodded. “Yeah. Just on our way to meet someone. That’s right.”

* * *

trollapediaEditor1 began chatting with ferventnihilist at 0657 AST (2157 AUT)

Galekh

Greetings and salutations, Neophyte Entykk1Your standing as a Neophyte is critically important at this juncture

I would hope you have prepared yourself accordingly.  
You have much to accomplish.2This is not to downplay or diminish my own role in the process

Tyzias

you mmmmind telling mmmme exactly wwwwhat the fuck you’re doing here?!

Galekh

It has come to my attention that you were planning to invoke an attack3A ground attack, I believe on the caverns as a way to sneak back on board the Iustitia.   
  
I hope I do not have to tell you how utterly absurd this was as a plan4It would have surely resulted in your death. A plan which I cannot allow you to continue in this direction in good faith. To the point, in fact, where I _must_ intervene.

Tyzias

wwwwhy should i trust you?!

Galekh

Honestly, I don’t see that you have much of a choice at this point. The knowledge of your location has already been shared5Although not the company you’re keeping. If I were to want to call down the hell of the Alternian Fleet upon you, rest assured that it would already have been done.   
  
I do not want you to be under any illusions — you do not have a choice in this. Either you will play along with my plans, or we will find a way to proceed without you.

Additionally, before you choose to ask me something so droll as “why should I do this?” or some similar thing, let me expand:   
  
I will be staying behind at the Jade cavern. If I catch wind that you are working to undermine my work, I will not hesitate to inform the Empire of what’s going on down there6An action which will surely result in a heavy loss of life. I hope you understand from my past actions that this is not a bluff.

Tyzias

so… you’re blackmmmmailing mmmme into doing… wwwwhat?

Galekh

What you were intended7In the reductive Alternian sense of the word to do as a member of the Legiscorpus. Specifically, I am going to ask you to act as one of the two key witnesses against Mallek Adalov. The other would, of course, be your matesprit, Ms. Sezyat.   
  
In case it wasn’t sufficiently clear from context, she doesn’t have a choice in this matter either.

Tyzias

fine   
wwwwhen are you getting here

Galekh

Imminently. Which is to say — get outside, now.

* * *

Tyzias stood at the entrance to the cavern, holding Stelsa’s hand tightly and glaring at the silhouette of the Imperial shuttle as it slowly touched down a hundred yards from the jade cavern. She squeezed her matesprit’s hand.

“Zizi, it’ll be okay,” Stelsa said quietly. “He’s still on our side.”

“Is that what this is? Are we on a side now? Is that what we call it when the alternative is the monster who levels a city on a whim.” She supposed that it was technically true, in a very reductive sense of the word. “Feels like it’s just… everyone under the heel of the Empress and the High Imperator.” And the whole system was built to support that above all else.

“I know, darling,” Stelsa replied, squeezing Tyzias’ hand again. “We’re doing what we can, right?”

Tyzias nodded. “Yeah, sure. Feels like the only way it’s ever going to end is if it all burns to the ground… every single piece of it.”

Another squeeze on her hand, followed by the gentle press of Stelsa’s arm against her. “Zizi… I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know how this is going to play out. But I do know that we’re going to do this together.” She smiled and looked at Tyzias closely. “Okay?”

It was such a simple thing to say — almost trite. But somehow, it meant so much for Tyzias to hear it in that moment. She looked quickly over at the approaching figure of Galekh Xigisi, stiff and stoic and representative of something that Tyzias didn’t trust. Something with the potential to take the old system and reshape it… but into what? That was a question she wasn’t sure she liked the answer to.

She looked over in the other direction, at the face of her matesprit. One person who represented hope in the world, even if that hope was often small and always fleeting. She squeezed Stelsa’s hand and nodded.

“Yeah. Together. Let’s fucking do this.”

Galekh finally walked up to them, nodding curtly as he arrived. “I am glad to see that you have both decided to agree. Trust me — this will be in service of the cause.” He pointed to the shuttle. “The gentlemen on board are allies — they will make sure you get aboard the Iustitia and connect with our other compatriots.”

“Fine,” Tyzias said. “We’re on board with this bullshit. But we need you to promise that this cavern will stay safe. These people don’t deserve to be dragged down with whatever fuckery you’ve got planned.”

Galekh nodded. “I can assure you that nothing untowards the people here.”

Tyzias narrowed her eyes — and she didn’t really believe him. But in the end, what choice did she have?


	43. Her Solemn Heart, Forever Black

the 7th night…

the Southern Caverns - 0821 local time (2321 AUT)

Bronya had assigned Daraya to help Lynera to begin preparing the remaining grubs for travel. They would take specialized sopor bags and hang them from some of the bigger lusii, giving them a way to effectively transport all of the immature grubs. The eggs would be similarly packed in a type of sopor designed to prevent them from hatching prematurely… including the fuschia egg that had been the common secret held between Daraya and Lynera for so long.

They’d been set to work early that evening and mostly worked in silence, with a brief interlude of commotion when Galekh Xigisi showed up. Daraya didn’t like him and she didn’t trust him — he’d mostly been talking to Elwurd and Bronya about something, and Daraya wasn’t entirely sure she liked the idea of that. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to be involved in it and neither was Lynera. If Bronya still wanted to prepare the caverns for a move even with an attack no longer being part of the plan, then that meant there was something else going on. As much as Daraya liked to tease Bronya, she ultimately respected the older jade.

So she and Lynera worked together, preparing the bags of sopor and corralling the lusii that would be suitable to transport them. By the time the evening had begun in full, they were almost done with their work. There would surely be something to do afterwards, but eventually they ended up back in the storage room retrieving the last of the sopor bags.

“So, you and Bronya, huh?” Daraya asked. She wasn’t sure _why_ she asked — just to make conversation? _Trying to avoid the really awkward conversation, yeah?_

Lynera sighed. “Yes, Daraya. Bronya and I have been matesprits for several days now.” That made Daraya laugh and she saw Lynera glare at her. “Is something funny about that?”

“I mean, you’ve been together for a couple days and fucked a few times and you’re matesprits now? Is that how that works?” She laughed again. “Sorry, I just… never mind.”

“Oh? And what business is it of yours? Are you jealous?” Lynera’s tone was hard to place — it sounded a little bit like she was _enjoying_ this.

“Of what? The fact that you get to fool around with the grubsitter?” She smirked as she saw Lynera’s face twist into a grimace.

“You make it sound so _gross_ all the time! You do realize she’s only a sweep older than me, right?” Daraya shrugged at that and put back the bag she was holding down. She sighed and leaned up against the shelves that held all the sopor bags. Lynera walked closer to her — her face a picture of smug confidence. “I think you _are_ jealous. Awww… are you a little bit red for Bronya too? Did I come in and end up fucking your crush?” Yes, she was definitely enjoying this.

“Oh shut up!” Daraya snapped quickly, looking away from Lynera and flushing deep green. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Bronya’s not really my type… especially not in that quadrant.”

Lynera raised an eyebrow and took a step closer. “What’s _that_ mean? What _is_ your type, exactly? The kind of person who’ll let you just do whatever you want and never question you on it? The kind of person who’ll never call you on your _bullshit?_ ” Lynera smirked at her, and a look of anger flashed across Daraya’s face.

“Shut the fuck up! You’ve lived with me for sweeps and you still don’t know the first thing about me!” She glared, not breaking eye contact with Lynera. “What do you think I’m about? Just being lazy? Just running away? So because I don’t want to be forced into a life of service to the Empire forever, I’m… what? Neglectful? You think I don’t care about you people because I don’t want to be _forced_ to be here?”

Something in Lynera’s face shifted, and her smirk faltered. Daraya glared and continued.

“I think you wish you could do the same. You wish you could get out and live a life that isn’t just about what we do here. At least to see what it’s like. That’s true, isn’t it?”

“I…” Lynera stammered out, her face shadowed by a frown. “I’m happy here.”

Daraya shrugged. “Sure. It’s possible to be happy and miserable at the same time.”

“No it’s fucking _not!_ ” Lynera shouted. “Stop saying things like that! The work we do here is important and I’m glad to do it… maybe it’s not for you and I’m sorry about that… but I don’t want to see you waste away because you don’t _like it enough!_ ”

“I’m not going to waste away,” Daraya said quietly. She started to move towards Lynera. “You weren’t out there. You didn’t see what I saw. Everything we do here… maybe that doesn’t have to be in service to the Empire after all. Maybe I see a way forward that actually has some glimmer of moonlight at the end.”

“Then why are you so fucking _mean_ to me all the time?!” Lynera had tears in her eyes now… and Daraya couldn’t help feeling… pity for her. _Oh great, you’re going to go fucking RED for her now? Fucking hell this is too damn much._ “Why do you treat me like shit because I want to make things as good as they can be for everyone here?”

Daraya took a deep breath and steadied herself. “I don’t know, okay. I don’t… fucking… know.” She pushed to the side and stepped past Lynera, leaving the sopor bag behind and moving toward the exit.

The pressure of a hand grabbing her upper arm stopped her. Daraya turned and saw Lynera holding onto her. It was impossible to read the expression on her face — some combination of hurt and anger and…

“I hate you so fucking much,” Lynera said softly. “You’re so much better than this.”

Daraya stopped and looked right into her eyes — trying very hard to ignore how much closer Lynera seemed now. “Well… I hate you too. You’re smart and you’re kind and you’re one of the best of us, and you spend all of it just being Bronya’s second.”

Lynera glared… and… licked her lips? “Maybe I see how important that is. You’re one of the sharpest people I know and you waste it sneaking out to go party when you could be… you could do anything else.”

“Well, maybe I just want to be able to live my life a little before I’m forced offworld. Or maybe I’m looking for another way out… a way we can make this shitty planet just a little bit better. Have you thought about that at all… since you’re so fucking smart.”

A moment of hesitation — Lynera squeezed Daraya’s arm and pulled her in closer. She wasn’t far now — less than an arm’s length away.

“I just don’t want you to waste who you are. You could… you could do so much for everyone.”

“Well,” Daraya swallowed hard. “So could you… but you’re always such a stupid, stuck-up bitch about it.”

“Something you would know all too well about.”

The next step she took closed the distance — and Daraya was pressing her lips against Lynera’s… and Lynera was kissing her right back. She felt the sharp prick of claws in the skin of her arm and let out a sharp moan around the kiss that was quickly enveloping her entire conscious world.

_Oh… holy… shit._

Daraya pushed her hand against Lynera’s chest and gripped the sweater vest she was always wearing. Pushing back, she had Lynera up against the shelves. The kiss still hadn’t broken. She felt Lynera’s other hand desperately grabbing at the side of her face, hooking the corner of her jaw and pulling her in closer.

_That stupid, fucking… sweater._ She had her hands up under the sweater… up under Lynera’s clothes, feeling around her waist and tracing along the line of her grub scars. Around to her back, pulling her hips in sharply. She heard Lynera moan and she broke away from the kiss.

“You _really_ want to do this?” Daraya asked… and looking at Lynera’s flushed, panting face she knew what she wanted the answer to be. “Because I’m not gonna go any further unless…” _You don’t want to admit how much you want this, do you?_

“Shut the fuck _up!_ ” Lynera snapped back — and her hand let go of Daraya’s arm… and went between her legs. Daraya drew in a sharp breath.

“Oh? Like _that?!_ ” She leaned in and kissed Lynera slowly, letting it linger this time.

Lynera pulled back from the kiss and moaned out a response that Daraya could barely hear. “Shut… up…”

* * *

It was, Daraya decided in hindsight, probably a good thing that the storage room was so far from the rest of the cavern. If Lanque had run into them, they’d never hear the end of it. If Bronya had… she’d probably lecture them about decorum and then congratulate them on filling their pitch quadrants while also subtly hinting that they should really confine these activities to their chambers in the future… and that felt like it would be somehow _more_ embarrassing.

Lynera finished smoothing out her skirt and that stupid sweater vest. The sweater vest had a couple new stains on it that would need washing, but Lynera didn’t seem to be overly concerned with it. Certainly not in the moment. Daraya felt at least a little bit self-satisfied by that.

“My point is I hate seeing wasted potential,” Lynera said curtly as she finished adjusting the skirt. “I hope I’ve been clear about that.”

Daraya smiled — if she was being honest it was a bit hard to actually think of much in the moment. A wave of feeling so strong it threatened to blot out her other senses.

“Fine,” she said to Lynera. “But you’re still a stuck-up bitch.” She wasn’t sure what the response was going to be… but Lynera walked over and kissed her on the neck.

“I’m not going to let you be something less than you deserve.” It wasn’t loud, but the words rang in Daraya’s ears. _I am not flipping red for you, god damn it._ “Not going to let you be a fucking waste.”

“Well,” Daraya murmurmed, “I’m not gonna let you be a bitch. You’re better than all that.”

“Fine,” Lynera said. “Later, then? We have work to do and I promised Bronya we’d spend some time together later.”

Daraya laughed. “Oh, I’ll _bet_ you did.” That rang a bit hollow - she didn’t feel like she really had the grounds to make fun of Lynera and Bronya after what they’d just finished doing. Daraya sighed and shrugged. “You know what… fuck it.”

She was about to turn to leave when she caught sight of a tall figure standing in the doorway. She recognized Galekh instantly… and Elwurd was standing next to him, leaning against the doorway and grinning from ear-to-ear.

“Don’t worry,” she said quickly. “I heard you two before we even got close. I made him wait until you were good and ready.” She winked.

Galekh didn’t look amused — he turned to glare at Elwurd. “Indeed. If everyone is quite done with whatever… this is…” he gestured broadly at Daraya and Lynera, both of them still in a disheveled state. “We have something to discuss — all of us.”

Daraya laughed. “Bullshit. We don’t have to discuss anything with you.”

“Oh? I think that perhaps you know that isn’t true. To be perfectly blunt, I wish to discuss the fuschia egg you’ve been hiding in these caverns.”

Daraya frowned and turned to Lynera, who looked down at the ground.

“I don’t figure we have a choice, do we?” She asked.

Galekh shook his head.

“Not really, no.”


	44. A Gallows Scaffold

the 7th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 2345 AUT

The court’s grand hall on the Iustitia was smaller (Polypa assumed) than its former counterpart aboard the Auctoritatis, but it was still an experience that sent shivers up Polypa’s neck. The entire room was built to emphasize the drama of the architecture, with an auditorium gallery that swept down to the well of the court before rising up again to the three pulpits where the High Imperator, Honorable Tyranny, and the Empress would all have their place. On a stage in front of them, there was a place for the accused to sit.

And as the Sergeant-at-Arms, Polypa would be standing right there next to the accused. She would also be one of the few people inside the grand hall allowed a weapon. Everyone else in the trial would be waiting off to the side of that stage until the moment when they were needed. The idea was to focus all of the attention on the moment of action in front of the court. The purpose was sending a dramatic message, after all, not actually providing any kind of justice.

“You ever seen one of the trials before, Polypa?” Marvus looked down at her and smiled. His voice sounded _different_ than usual — more somber… more measured. “I know they might not exactly let you out much in the Army.” There was something almost _kind_ behind the smile, and Polypa was having such a hard time figuring him out.

“I saw one when I was a wiggler and another one before I went offworld. The second one… it was a big deal.”

Marvus nodded slowly. “Yeah… I remember that one real good. Was the first time I sat as Honorable Tyranny, matter-of-fact. A cerulean had stolen a cruiser and was planning to turn the crew against the Empire.” He looked thoughtful. “Didn’t work out quite the way he expected, I guess. I think that was actually my last time aboard the Auctoritatis.” He looked a bit sad at the mention of the ship. “Shame what happened.”

Polypa nodded respectfully. In truth, she didn’t have much of a feeling one way or the other what happened to the purple bloods’ ship. They were so far above her that they might as well be on another plane of existence. Her typical life had been fairly pedestrian, and she suspected it would’ve remained that way until she ended up on a duty rotation that took her into one of the never-ending wars of conquest that the Empire was always starting.

Together, they walked down the central aisle and up the stairs that led to the stage. From the stage, everything looked different — smaller… farther off.

“You’ll be up here.” Marvus gestured to a spot marked off on the stage. “Sergeant-at-Arms… which means if anyone does anything crazy you hold them off until help arrives.” He laughed. “More likely, you take the prisoner off at the end of the trial and deliver him to the Legiscorpus High Ultor.”

Polypa shivered at the mention of them… the one responsible for assigning punishment… more specifically, for carrying out executions.

“Yes, sir.”

Marvus winked. “I told you, none of that _sir_ bullshit. A fellow performer should be on a first-name basis. You’re Polypa… I’m Marvus.” He said it so casually, and again Polypa was hit with a strange sense of dissonance.

“Marvus… okay. What do you mean by a performer?”

He shrugged. “Main goal here is to entertain — to make a spectacle. You know that millions of folks will be tuning in. We’ll probably pull higher numbers than _Slam_ and both the Empress and the High Imperator will be here. This is the big show… and it’ll matter just as much for you to be properly menacing as it will for us to look regal and the Accusers and Prosecutor to do their job.”

The terms meant vague things to her — half-remembered from a trial that she mostly remembered for the look on the face of the accused when he was led away to his ultimate fate. That was something she’d had nightmares about, although she would never tell anyone outside of her moirail about them.

Marvus walked to the side of the pulpits and slapped the wood — it was real wood too, not synthetic — and grinned. “Been a good minute. I almost missed it… being up there and have everyone looking to you. You put a young purple up there, he’s liable to get all misty-eyed his first time out. It’s a whole lot to ask of anyone, but ten sweeps is a bit young for all of that.” A look came over his face, and Polypa couldn’t tell what he was thinking. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished — and he had the same easy smile as before.

“You ever hear about the trial of the Signless?” Marvus’ voice was casual, but something about the tone had shifted. This felt like a dangerous topic.

Polypa shook her head — “I’m not sure. We learned about the execution of the Signless… the Grand High Blood ordered the Executioner to kill him. It was taught in command school… supposed to show us how important it is to follow orders.”

Marvus was nodding along, the smile gone from his face. “Not the execution… the trial.” He ran his fingers over the side of the pulpit and frowned. “There’s a big motherfuckin difference.”

“No… I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that,” she said quietly.

“Wouldn’t figure… not something that’s widely recorded.” He looked around the grand hall before he continued. “Just you and me here, Polypa… you wanna hear the story?”

She was suddenly struck with the idea that she should refuse — that she should make any excuse to not hear this. It felt like something forbidden… something that would change how she saw the world.

She nodded her head.

You see, the idea of these show trials ain’t a new thing — not at all. It was started way back by Her Imperious Condescension as a way to keep everyone in line. You make sure folks know that there’s no hope of escape from what they’re a part of.

See, the Signless wasn’t a threat because he was some great warlord or even that good of a preacher… he was a threat because he brought people together in a way that made them start to question the order of things. If folks don’t see things as natural anymore, then it’s a lot harder to trick ‘em into actin like this shit’s natural. You feel me? I know you do.

They finally managed to capture the Signless — you know that part because everyone does. Problem is, most of the stories just skip right to his sentence. But the Empress didn’t want to just kill him — she wanted to make sure his ideas were good and dead too. So she tasked Neophyte Redglare with being her Prosecutor. The idea of using the Accusers hadn’t been thought up yet, so that was mostly done by the Prosecutor.

And she needed an Honorable Tyranny… the Empress picked a purple blood out who she thought would be perfect.

“Who’d she pick?” Polypa said quietly. She didn’t even mean to interrupt — it just slipped out. Marvus smiled and shook his head.

“Nah, girl, we’re gettin to that part.”

Anyway, the Empress picked a purple blood to preside over the trial. Young dude — maybe twelve sweeps or so. Promising member of the Church though… going places and all that.

It’s important you keep in mind that the Subjugglators and the Church have always been loyal to the Empress. Just keep that one in your pan for later.

Trial starts, and it’s goin juuuust fine. The Neophyte puts out the accusations like a pro, even if her heart maybe isn’t completely in it. But she puts on a good show and the Empress approves. It’s all lookin fine and then…

The Signless, he asks the purple blood over and he whispers something so quiet that no one else can hear it. And the whole crowd sees the purple’s face change. He steps away from the Signless and there’s something in his eyes, and you can tell that there’s something wrong. The Neophyte doesn’t dare say anything, and everyone’s wondering what’s gonna happen next.

That purple turns to the Empress and he tells her that he can’t do this anymore. He’s not going to do this trial — that he thinks they should let the Signless go.

Of course, the Empress laughs and she doesn’t agree to that — she asks him why she would ever even _consider_ letting this rebel go.

The purple looks her dead in the eyes and he says that the gods don’t want this — that the Messiahs won’t be on board with this. You gotta remember… the Church of the Messiahs is _important_ here. This invocation — that’s something that means a lot. Everyone can tell that this purple didn’t mean it lightly. After all, even the Empress can’t just defy the Church like that.

The Empress stands up…

And she laughs at him.

The Empress looks this purple dead in the eyes, and she says something that’ll be passed down from purple to purple to purple for hundreds of sweeps.

“I serve older gods than you do.”

And that was it. She kills the purple on the spot and orders the Signless executed.

The purple’s name was stricken from all the records — their sign erased from memory. And that story stayed a secret held in the Church for sweeps and sweeps.

“But… why?” Polypa muttered to herself. Marvus heard it, and he nodded.

“That’s the question, isn’t it? And why we bother passin that shit down from one to the next.” Marvus nodded thoughtfully. “It’s fuckin obvious — no matter how much power we think we have. No matter how much we might be able to strike fear into even the violets above us… we’re still all just toys for the Empress to play with. We’d do to never forget that.” He patted the base of the pulpit again.

“So why tell me this now?” Polypa asked… and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

Marvus leaned closer to her and his voice dropped.

“Because I’ve been seein’ some things lately… things that show me a way forward.” He smiled slowly. “And I’d like you to help me out.”

* * *

As soon as she finished the work she had to do for Marvus, Polypa went straight back to her quarters to try to get in touch with her moirail. There were too many things in her head — too many questions that only seemed to lead down paths that led to bigger, harder-to-answer questions.

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0217 AUT

Polypa

you there? *|   
could use some advice * if you’ve got a minute *|

Tegiri

I am indeed here. I was just meditating on the nature of service and /oya/ty.

Polypa

appropriate * given what i’ve got going on here *|

Tegiri

We//… I am eterna//y here if you need to discuss practica/ phi/osophy.

Polypa

okay * well * i don’t know what i should be doing right now *|   
i’m assigned to work for marvus xoloto building this trial *|   
but i think he’s planning something much bigger *|   
he keeps hinting about there being more going on *|

Tegiri

Intriguing. And do you find yourse/f in a conf/ict of /oya/ties between the purp/e b/ood and someone e/se?

Polypa

you could say that * someone like the high imperator *|

Tegiri

I hope I don’t need to te// you how dangerous this game you’re p/aying cou/d end up being.

Polypa

no * i just wanted some advice * about what the right thing to do is *|

Tegiri

That is… an interesting question. I wi// admit to having given the matter some thought as of /ate.   
  
Sha// I share my conc/usions.

Polypa

please do *|

Tegiri

I be/ieve that, of the two of us, you are the far more nuanced, inte//igent one. I be/ieve that your judgment is sound, and that if you fo//ow your instincts then that wi// yie/d favorab/e resu/ts. Or at /east the most favorab/e, given the circumstance.

Polypa

you’re not worried * that i might be going to my death * by following those instincts? *|

Tegiri

Perhaps. But /itt/e good comes of my worry. I promised to support you honest/y, and I be/ieve this is one case where you are justified in how you fee/.

Polypa

thanks, giri * i owe you *|

Tegiri

You most assured/y do not.

Putting the palmhusk away securely, Polypa got up once more to go try to find the two teals who would be serving as Prosecutor and Accuser. If Marvus wanted the kind of show he had been describing, then having them on board would be important… maybe even critical.

_No going back after this._ Polypa walked out the door… and closed it firmly behind her.


	45. The Chain Unbroken

the 7th night…

the Southern Caverns - 0842 local time (2342 AUT)

It was amazing how much difference it made — how much better it felt to stop hiding her feelings inside. Lynera was still having a hard time believing that any of this was actually happening, but she wasn’t going to curse the existence of a thing by questioning it excessively.

It was different than with Bronya — shorter, and a lot more… kinetic. A lot more being shoved up against walls and grabbing and pulling hair. A lot more pent-up frustration… but the same amount of denied feelings. The same sense of emotional release, and the same feeling of satisfaction when they were done.

About the same amount of discarded clothes to pick up off the floor, more-or-less.

She’d finally been honest with Daraya, and she supposed the opposite had been true as well. _And look where that got you._ It wasn’t a statement of good or bad — simply a statement of what _was_ and it was up to her to interpret the implications herself. Overall, she felt like it was probably a good thing. She’d never had a kismesis before — never had anything before a few cycles ago — but she could see how it fit into things.

It was, at least, something that felt good for both of them. Even if it was mainly going to be a stress relief, maybe that was worth it.

So she straightened her skirt, put her sweater back on ( _I just washed this… shit_ ), and talked to Daraya honestly. That wasn’t something she thought they could go back on anymore. No more subtle sniping and behind-the-back comments… and Lynera knew that would be better for both of them.

When the two high bloods walked in, Lynera felt like she might die of embarrassment — especially after the cerulean’s comment about giving them both a minute. Daraya seemed almost angrier than she felt.

“Bullshit. We don’t have to discuss anything with you.” Daraya’s tone was angry, and Lynera could feel hurt behind it. A hurt that almost felt like betrayal.

“Oh? I think that perhaps you know that isn’t true. To be perfectly blunt, I wish to discuss the fuschia egg you’ve been hiding in these caverns.” Lynera didn’t recognize this man, but he wore the colors of an indigo blood and he had a serious look about him.

Lynera looked down to avoid Daraya’s gaze. She didn’t feel sorry that she’d preserved the egg — didn’t question that decision for even a moment. But she was starting to question the decision to tell anyone else, and she could tell from Daraya’s face that her brand-new kismesis felt very much the same about it.

“I don’t figure we have a choice, do we?” Daraya asked. The hurt was still there.

The serious-looking indigo shook his head. “Not really, no.”

But Lynera couldn’t let this continue, high-blood or no — “Excuse me! Who are you and what business is it of yours what we do in the caverns?!”

The indigo laughed. “You’re… serious?” He nodded, apparently realizing she wasn’t joking with him. “My name is Galekh Xigisi. I’m the one who’s going to lead the Alternian people out of the bonds of servitude to the Empress and her loyal stooges.”

Lynera instantly, instinctively disliked him. She recognized the haughty arrogance because it was her own failing as well… but there was something deeper in this one. He didn’t just see himself as superior in the abstract sense — he saw himself as superior in the very specific way that implied that everyone else was a tool to be used. Lynera couldn’t stand that — couldn’t stand the way that the high bloods looked down over everyone else and treated them as disposable.

“How do you even know about the egg?!” Lynera demanded. She already knew the answer.

Galekh scoffed. “Your… _friend_ told me. She is of the mind that it will help to strike at the Alternian Empire. I am inclined to agree, of course.”

Lynera glanced over at Daraya and one look at her face said that she was having second thoughts about having told Galekh any of this information. Lynera focused all the anger that was boiling inside of her at the high blood.

“That sounds ridiculous! How would having a fuschia — having an _Heiress_ — help your rebellion?” She turned to look at Elwurd. “And _you!_ How can you stand there and let this happen. If Bronya was ever willing to give you the time of night, you must have at least _some_ common sense.”

Elwurd didn’t respond — she just turned her head away and looked sheepish. Lynera glared at her, then back at Galekh.

“So how does any of this help the rebellion.”

“It’s simple,” Galekh said, as if he were explaining something to a small wiggler. “You will provide me with the egg and I will take it to my compatriots, who will then hatch it and raise the grub to maturity. The rebellion is always in peril, and unless we have a strong leader at the center of it, it will crumble like so much dust.” He smiled and pushed his glasses up. “Previous rebellions have always been headed up by low bloods… the Signless… the Summoner. The common rabble who have no sense of perspective or what it means to lead. With a proper fuschia blood, we have a chance of rallying support against Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty and, eventually, overthrowing her in favor of a new world. A kinder world, if you will.”

While Galekh had been speaking, Elwurd’s face had been growing increasingly distressed. Finally, she spoke up — “Wait, you never told me any of this! You said we were going to raise the fuschia as part of the rebellion… just like any other low blood. You _said_ that we were all equals. That’s the kind of thing that Mallek believed… the kind of thing I thought _you_ believed.”

“Oh, of course… of course,” Galekh chided softly. “But you need to understand that there is a certain need for organization and leadership. What better way to provide that than with the most naturally-equipped leader of them all.”

“You haven’t even asked us whether or not we agree to this!” Lynera shouted at Galekh, balling up her fists and scowling. “We’re the ones responsible for her care! Maybe… maybe the fuschia shouldn’t be hatched at all right now. Or maybe she should just be a part of everything, like Elwurd said! Maybe the problem is that you think that she’s going to be better as a leader just because… just because she was born a certain way!”

Lynera was seething — she thought of how Bronya took the grubs that had been written off as suitable only for culling and nursed them back to health. How she took that one, small way to defy the expectations placed on her. She thought of what Daraya had said to her — about how she shouldn’t be here in the caverns simply because she was forced to be there. In that singular moment, Lynera understood how the pieces fit together.

“We shouldn’t be doing any of this! The Empire isn’t just bad because it kills people — it’s bad because it takes us all and turns us into nothing more than little pieces in a machine! You don’t want to make a better world… just a world where you’re the one in charge. I’m not stupid! Killing someone isn’t the only way to cull them… you can do it by keeping them away from the world forever… and you’d do that and call it kindness!”

Galekh shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. You are going to take me to the fuschia egg and you are going to let me walk out of here. Grab that sopor bag you two dropped — I’ll be needing it.”

Elwurd’s voice cut across the quiet of the cavern. “The fuck you will! I’m not going to let you do this, Galekh. It’s wrong.”

Galekh shrugged again. “Fine.”

He reached behind his back, into his waistband, and a gun was in his hand. Lynera didn’t recognize it specifically, but it reminded her of the video dramas that always featured dashing Alternian Army commandos. It was the kind of pistol that the hero of the story would always have — black and imposing and full of death.

The pistol barked out once, and a blossom of cobalt blue appeared on Elwurd’s chest. She staggered back, gasping. “What… the… fuck…”

Galekh raised the pistol and aimed it at her head, ready to fire. But Elwurd collapsed backwards, fell against the wall, and lay very still. Lynera wanted to scream, but she choked it back as Galekh turned with the pistol still in hand.

Daraya _was_ screaming, down on her knees, and gritting her teeth. “You fucking _bastard!_ You just fucking _shot her!_ You just fucking _killed her!_ ”

“Just as well,” Galekh said. “I didn’t want to waste the ammunition.” He looked back to Lynera and Daraya. “Now, I believe you two are keeping something that I am owed.”

* * *

The whole way to the deep cavern, Lynera hoped that someone would notice what was happening. She hoped that the noise of the pistol would’ve drawn attention and that someone would come to check on them. But they had been so far from the rest of the cavern, and sound traveled strangely underground sometimes. Lynera kept thinking she heard someone coming to see, only to realize that the shuffling noises she thought she heard in the distance were nothing more than figments of her desperate imagination.

Galekh kept the pistol trained on them as they led the way to the deep cavern — to the place where the fuschia egg was held in stasis for some eventual awakening. They had never decided what they were going to do with the egg, but they knew that handing it over to someone who wanted to raise a new Empress wasn’t what they had ever planned.

“I do apologize for that earlier business,” Gaelkh said calmly. “I never wanted to hurt her — she was a very capable and promising individual. A potential revolutionary of the highest order, to be honest. It was never my intention to use violence to carry this out, but there are times when the ends must be obtained, no matter what.”

Daraya muttered back to him, her voice low and dangerous. “You damn bastard. She was worth more than a hundred of you. I shouldn’t have told you about the egg…”

“No, if your intentions are self-centered then you should not have,” Galekh replied evenly. “But I believe that you will come to understand that this is for the best.”

They fell into hostile silence again and kept walking, and before long they had finally arrived at the deep cavern — the place where special eggs were kept in stasis until it was the right time for them to hatch. There was only one — there was only the fuschia egg.

Galekh nodded. “Please go about your business gathering the supplies needed to transport the egg. Also… I should note that I am perfectly willing to have you along with me to help care for the future Heiress. One or both of you. It would be a great boon to have two experienced jade bloods to assist me, and you already have the benefit of a pre-existing emotional bond with the egg.” He smiled and lowered the pistol, confident that neither of them were close enough to do him any harm. “You would be able to continue the… relationship that the two of you are developing. You would be given every resource I have at my disposal. Myself and my allies are not cruel — we are not vindictive or power-hungry. We simply want to make this world everything it _could_ be were it not enslaved by a tyrannical monster whose only concerns are interplanetary conquest and Chittr posting.”

Lynera and Daraya said nothing. They looked at each other, back at Galekh, and they said nothing.

“Very well,” Galekh responded. “Please continue.”

They saw what was happening… and they said nothing.

The rock came crashing down on Galekh’s head with a heavy, hollow sound — the sound of a piece of meat being thrown to the sound and the crack of dry twigs. It wasn’t enough to put him out, but it was enough to knock him down.

It was enough to knock the pistol out of his hands.

Dropping the rock, a very bloody Elwurd dived down to her knees and grabbed the pistol. Galekh staggered back, indigo oozing from the back of his head. He scrabbled on the floor, coughing and groaning.

“This… this is… all a misunderstanding,” he stammered out. Elwurd pushed herself up and held out the pistol.

“Feels kinda personal to me, actually,” she said. Her voice was low, but it was still clear.

If there was some response Galekh meant to give, he never got the chance. Elwurd pulled the trigger. The pistol barked again. Galekh Xigisi’s head gave way, and a jet of indigo gore blew out the back.

Lynera screamed and turned away. She felt Daraya wrap her arms around her, holding her close.

“What the fuck?” Daraya was screaming. “What the fuck is wrong with you two?!”

Elwurd coughed and dropped the pistol on the ground. “I’m gonna lie down now. You think maybe you could get me some help.” She fell to her knees again. “I’d kinda rather not die down here.”

* * *

Lynera ran to get Bronya, and Bronya came back with an array of medical supplies. Without hesitating, Bronya began tending to the wound in Elwurd’s chest.

“You are lucky that this 1 — didn’t hit anything vital, and 2 — went cleanly through. It could’ve been so much worse.” Bronya’s tone sounded more annoyed than anything else.

From nearby, a loud chime sounded. Lynera jumped.

Elwurd smiled at Bronya. “You care about me, huh? You thinking about maybe you shouldn’t have dropped me the way you did.”

Bronya _hmph_ ed and shook her head. “I care about you as much as I care about anyone. Also, I have a matesprit now.” She looked over at Lynera and smiled. “One noble act doesn’t excuse perigees of neglect.”

“Fair enough,” Elwurd said with a short laugh. “Ouch. That hurts.”

The chime sounded again, and Lynera could tell that it was definitely coming from Galekh’s body.

“You were very reckless.” Lynera was directing it at Daraya and Lynera this time. “You should have both come to me about this egg when you first found it. I’m hurt that you thought my first instinct would be to destroy it.”

Lynera looked down, her face flushing jade in shame.

The chime sounded once more — Lynera couldn’t take it anymore. She walked over to where the body was lying on the floor and leaned over, trying not to look at the pulpy section of Galekh’s head where the bullet had made its way out. She reached into his pocket and found a palmhusk.

trollapediaEditor1 began chatting with bettercallgorgor at 0831 AST (2331 AUT)

Galekh

Your reservations1Specifically to the nature and tempo of my operation are noted. I do not, however, have to respect your opinion in the matter.

Tagora

For someone who talks about revolution, you’re especially fond of lording your position on the hemospectrum over me. Is that on purpose or are you simply that fucking stupid?

Galekh

As much as I would love to engage in a rousing bout of pitch with you,   
I’m afraid I have other business to attend to.2re: our previous conversation about the jade caverns

Tagora

Fine. I don’t pretend to try to tell you how to run things. Just… things are getting hot up here, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to keep everything together.

Galekh

Ridiculous. You’ve held everything “together” perfectly fine. In fact, you have continued to impress me with your ability to organize and coordinate, not to mention covertly pass information to myself and my companions.   
  
I would hope it goes without saying that I fully intend to pull you out of this situation as soon as possible.

Tagora

Does that go for Stelsa and Tyzias too? You know that the Empire’s gonna put the pieces together eventually, especially if I’m not there to help interfere.   
  
Thinking that the Empire is fully of idiots would be a mistake. Tempting… but a mistake.

Galekh

Yes, very well. I suppose that can be arranged3Pending a full review of the logistics, of course.   
  
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some small matters to take care of. I will return shortly.

bettercallgorgor began chatting with trollapediaEditor1 at 0856 AST (2356 AUT)

Tagora

Hey, I’m going into this trial in just a few minutes and I really need you to help on this one. This is an emergency. I think the clown knows what’s happening.

Tagora

Galekh? What the fuck? Did you not see my message? I’m telling you, Marvus Xoloto knows what’s going on.

Tagora

HE WINKED AT ME AND TOLD ME THAT HE KNEW ABOUT MY FRIENDS WHAT THE FUCK I NEED SOME HELP UP HERE!

Lynera glared at the screen — at the blaze of text and the detached way that Galekh responded to everything. At the implications of secrets on top of secrets — of a world where nothing was as it seemed and the only thing that mattered was grabbing for power.

And how different was that than the world they already had?

Lynera quickly tapped at the palmhusk.

Galekh

-!!!He’s dead!!!   
-!!!!DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!!!!!!   
-!!!He tried to hurt people and now he’s dead!!!!

As hard as she could, Lynera threw the palmhusk across the room. It hit the rocky wall on the far side and burst into a shower of glass and plastic. Lynera stood up and began to pace the cavern, trying desperately not to keep looking at the remains of Galekh’s head.

Finally, Lynera stopped, dropped to her knees… and threw up everything she’d had to eat in the last cycle on the cavern floor.


	46. Opening Act

the 7th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0011 AUT

More than anything, Tyzias wished she could hold Stelsa… at least hold her hand. Instead, they stood side-by-side a couple feet apart and waited for Marvus to finish speaking from the pulpit where he sat.

“...we have, sitting before you in judgement, the accused leader of the rebellion — Mallek Adalov! Today, live before you, you will hear the accusations brought against this vile traitor to his blood — and you will see justice done on behalf of her Impassioned Imperious Majesty, Trizza Tethis!” Marvus finished and gave the audience sitting in the gallery time to react. A wave of hissing and booing hit the stage and Tyzias flinched.

_This is a fucking farce._

She would give almost anything not to have to be on board anymore. She’d hoped, desperately, to have a spare moment with Tagora to try to figure something out — to figure out a way that they could seize some impossible victory from the ravening jaws of the Empire. Instead, it looked like she would instead be forced to play a small role in the execution of someone who, while perhaps not a friend (or even someone she knew especially well), was someone that she had come to respect.

There was a time, sweeps ago, where Tyzias knew that she might’ve gone down a similar path. Instead, she’d hoped that by becoming a part of the system she could do something to move it in a better direction — to make it more just piece by piece. At least that was what she liked to tell herself, when the feelings got bad enough.

_You’re just a part of this system. The same as anyone else. Trading the lives of others for whatever small comforts you can get._

Maybe Mallek was misguided in his approach, and maybe someone like Galekh had a more solid, practical understanding of the actual mechanics of revolution… but Tyzias couldn’t fault his spirit.

“Your most glorious Impassioned Imperious Majesty,” Marvus continued once the noise of the gallery had died down, “do you have any words for anyone here.”

The amplified sound of Trizza clearing her throat from high above — the seat nearest to the ceiling — and she spoke. Tyzias wasn’t sure she’d ever heard the Empress’ voice before.

“Yah… let’s get this fucking thing going. Don’t waste my fucking time.”

Marvus’ voice again, from the pulpit — “There you have it, folks! The words of our righteously empowered Empress herself! Prosecutor Gorjek, can you give us your open statement?”

Tyzias glanced up at the stage, where Mallek sat in the center, chained to a chair, and Tagora stood nearby holding a sheaf of paper that was almost certainly blank. This wasn’t a trial — it was a scripted show.

_He doesn’t want to be here any more than we do._

“Thank you, your Honorable Tyranny,” Tagora said with a slow smile. “My name is Inquisitor Tagora Gorjek, and I will be representing the case of the Alterian Empire on behalf of Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty! During the course of today’s events, we will show beyond the barest sliver of a doubt that Mallek Adalov not only engaged in seditious and treasonous acts against the Alternian Empire, but did in fact _lead_ the most singularly violent, destructive revolution since the Summoner nearly five hundred sweeps ago!”

A pause… for dramatic effect.

“You will see the evidence brought forth by the accusers — two women who saw firsthand the horrors of the rebellion and all the destruction it brought to our fair Empire. You will see that this person sitting here is no mere man of middling blood status, but in fact a dangerous revolutionary. Not only this, but a traitor to his blood whose very existence should be stricken from the annals of existence. Whose ancestry should be removed from the Alternian genetic rolls. Whose name should be stripped away, leaving nothing behind of his horrific acts other than a title…”

Another pause… for dramatic effect.

“The Apostate.”

* * *

There was always someone watching them, no matter where they went. It was impossible to get a minute alone to confer with Tagora, and whatever influence Galekh might have over the crew of the Iustitia seemed to be tenuous at best. In fact, they were scheduled to begin the trial in a half hour by the time Tyzias and Stelsa were brought in to see Tagora. He’d been frantically preparing.

“Oh, you’re here… good. You know this is being produced on a tight timeline, and you’ll both be filling the role of accuser for this trial.”

“Gor-gor,” Tyzias said quietly, “what the fuck is going on? Why is this happening so quickly?”

Tagora shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The thing that matters is that you know what you’re supposed to be doing and that you don’t fuck it up. You’ll be provided with some basic talking points — you don’t have to memorize them because no one expects the Accusers to do that.”

Tyzias narrowed her eyes. “Yeah… okay, I guess.” She’d never actually played the role outside of a mock trial during Legiscorpus training. Everyone was required to understand how the different assignments worked together.

The Prosecutor presented the Empire’s case. The Accusers presented all the evidence, such as it was. The High Tyranny rendered a verdict that was always predetermined.

“It’s not going to be hard, but it _is_ important. Also, there’s at least one piece of… unusual evidence. I think Marvus Xoloto wanted it for the show of it.”

* * *

“Thank you, Prosecutor Gorjek,” Marvus called out. “Before we go any further, there’s something I want to get out front here… something to really let y’all know how bad the Apostate is. How much he wants to hurt you!”

From above, there was a low humming sound as two drones descended from the shadows above the stage lighting. Between them, they had something held. Tyzias thought she recognized it from her brief course on Fleet technology. Enough of the gallery knew what it was that a general uproar sounded throughout. Marvus banged a fist on the pulpit and the sound of the crowd dropped to a low murmur. The drones deposited their payload on the front of the stage and whirred off into the shadows again.

Tagora picked up the script — “This, my fine fellow Alternians, is a class-D orbital strike munition. Do not fear — this one has been rendered inert by the Fleet technicians. But know that several of these were found aboard _this very starship!_ ” Tagora stopped to give the gallery time to react to that — there was worried chatter throughout.

“That’s right,” he continued. “This rebel and his associates were willing to destroy yet another symbol of Alternian justice in the name of their misguided revolution. Disgusting.”

“That isn’t true!” Mallek shouted from the center of the stage, and Tyzias jumped. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything. It wasn’t in the script, although the response to any attempts by the accused to speak out of turn _was._ On the stage, the olive blood Sergeant-at-Arms walked over and slapped Mallek across the face, hard enough to be heard from the gallery. He fell silent again and Tagora continued.

“Thank you, Command Sergeant. Fortunately, the diligence of the Alternian Fleet has ensured that no further surprise attacks by the Apostate’s associates will come to fruition. In fact, we are on the verge of rooting the last of them out and bringing the rest of those loyal to the Apostate to justice.”

More murmuring from the crowd, and Tagora waited for it to subside.

“We will not let justice rest! And so, without further delay, I call the first Accuser — Neophyte Tyzias Entykk of the Alternian Legiscorpus Investigative Division!”

Tyzias drew in a deep breath… and she walked towards the stairs that led up to the stage.

* * *

Tagora nodded — “In any case, your roles are simple. You’ll both be testifying to different parts of the case… or, you know, the case as it officially stands.” Tagora shrugged at that and his face was briefly hard to read before returning to his usual air of superiority. “Tyzias, you’re going to be talking about the attack on the Army training compound.”

“Wait,” Tyzias said quietly. “You meant the bombing or the… other version of events.”

Tagora looked around quickly and leaned in, dropping his voice. “The true and correct accounting of events as presented live before an audience of millions. The version which is in your trial script.”

Tyzias nodded. “Ah. Got it.”

“What about me?” Stelsa asked, her voice wavering and nervous. “What am _I_ supposed to talk about.”

“I think they’re especially proud of that one,” Tagora said. He handed Stelsa a script packet. “Read through it quickly and make sure you’re at least familiar with it. You don’t need to memorize, but it should at least sound like something you’ve heard of before.”

Before Tagora could say anything else, the door to the backstage prep room opened, and Marvus Xoloto stepped inside. He looked around, and his eyes lighted on Tagora and stopped.

“Heyyy, Tagora Gorjek — I need to talk to you real quick. Get over here and let me have a few words.”

Tagora swallowed heavily and walked over to where Marvus was standing. “Yes, your Honorable Tyranny.”

Marvus laughed. “Oh come on! You don’t need to start with all that _Honorable Tyranny_ shit until we’re live. Call me _Marvus._ ”

* * *

Tyzias stepped onto the stage and walked delicately around the deactivated warhead that was now sitting in the middle of the stage. She approached where Mallek was sitting… she couldn’t look him in the eyes. There was still a spark there — a glint of hope even in the hellish situation he found himself in.

She stopped on her mark, a few feet in front of the chair where Mallek was restrained, and raised her voice. The amplification on the stage would capture her words and project them to the entire grand hall, not to mention to the millions who were now watching the trial being broadcast live throughout the galaxy.

Tyzias cleared her throat. “Apostate — formerly known as Mallek Adalov — you have committed acts of war against the Alternian Empire. In the 3rd Sweep of the Reign of Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty, you were responsible for the planning and execution of a violent attack on the Southern Alternian Regional Training Command, resulting in heavy loss of life and the destruction of several barracks of Army troops. You are thusly accused — how do you respond?”

Mallek lifted his head and stared directly at her. “I have nothing to say to you.”

“Very well,” Tyzias nodded. “The accusation stands unchallenged. Your Honorable Tyranny… Prosecutor… I would ask your leave.”

Tagora nodded, and descended the stairs again. As she was walking down, she noticed that Tagora had glanced down at his palmhusk… and something was wrong. Tyzias quickly moved down into the shadow of the stage and leaned close to Stelsa.

“Something’s going on and I don’t know what.”

From above, Tagora let out a strangled noise. But he quickly regained his composure, his natural experience in front of the public taking over.

“Your Honorable Tyranny, I must bring something to your attention!”

Marvus nodded from the pulpit. “What’s happening, Prosecutor?”

“It has just been brought to my attention that the rebels have seized control of the Southern jade caverns! My sources have reliably informed me that they have already killed a high blood member of the Alternian Fleet’s research division — Scholar Galekh Xigisi!”

_Oh… shit._

“I apologize for breaking the sacred decorum of this trial, but this is something that cannot be ignored!” Tagora’s voice was starting to crack. “Even as the Apostate stands before us, his influence extends into every aspect of Alternian society! Into the very source of our grubs! Into the very future of our Empire!”

“Well now,” Marvus called from above. “That sounds like a real serious problem. High Imperator… this sounds like something for you to respond to.”

_Oh shit._

Tyzias pulled out her palmhusk. _Who the fuck can I get in touch with?!_

From the pulpit, the High Imperator sighed. “Very well… I will continue to indulge this. On authority as High Imperator, I am momentarily recessing this trial to coordinate a proper response. We will reconvene as soon as this situation has been resolved.”

_Shit shit shit shit._ Tyzias scrabbled at the palmhusk and entered Skylla Koriga’s contact information.

“Thank you, High Imperator,” Tagora’s voice was laced with genuine hurt. “The Empire is, as always, swift in its justice.”

ferventnihilist began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0028 AUT

Tyzias

get the fuck out of there now

get everyone and fucking run   
you’re about to have a lot of company

_God fucking damn it, Gor-gor why are you doing this? Why the fuck are you doing this NOW?!_

Tyzias grit her teeth and waited for what was going to happen next — there was nothing else she could do.


	47. Eye of the Storm

the 7th night…

the Southern Caverns - 0932 local time (0032 AUT)

Skylla sat straight up in the longueplank in the room the jades had provided for her and stared at the palmhusk, every rational part of her mind not wanting to believe the words she was seeing on the screen. But deep inside, that animal part of her was screaming — every neuron crying out _run!_

Before she even had a chance to react, the palmhusk pinged again.

kull4hire began chatting with countryyladyy452 at 0932 AST (0032 AUT)

Konyyl

Any chance you’re planetside?   
As in when you said WALK AWAY   
Did you actually mean JOIN THE FUCKING REBELLION?

Skylla

I kinda don’t have time to talk right now, actuallyy.   
I’m sorryy — I’ll explain everyything later. Honest word.

Konyyl

I’m not STUPID   
I know you’re in with something

But you need to LISTEN   
The whole ship just went on strike alert   
I was outside the court when it happened   
The Legislacerator said something about the southern jade caverns

Skylla

Oh

Konyyl

You’re there aren’t you?   
You don’t have to answer I trust you   
But if you’re there

You need to not be there anymore

Skylla

How long do we have?

Konyyl

There’s a troop ship kept in orbit for rapid strikes   
A half hour at MOST

Skylla

Fuck.

Konyyl

Not to sound all red or anything but   
Please stay SAFE   
I’m really getting to like you   
Rather not see you killed

Skylla

Got it. Fuck. I’ll see yyou soon, mayybe.

Konyyl

Don’t make promises you can’t keep

“Fuck!” Skylla yelled as she pocketed the palmhusk and jumped to her feet. She ran out of the room and quickly made her way to the common area where the jades usually gathered. She needed to find their matriarch and warn her. She needed to find the matriarch _right away_ and warn her.

The first sign she saw that something was wrong was right there when she got to the common area. Their matriarch ( _Bronya! That’s her name!_ ) was there, but she wasn’t by herself. Elwurd was there, but Elwurd was sitting on a longueplank and had her chest wrapped in bandages. Bronya turned her head as soon as she heard Skylla running in.

“What is this?” she called out. “We are dealing with something of an—” she saw Skylla’s face and froze in place.

“We need to get going right away. They’re going to be here soon.”

Elwurd coughed from where she was lying down and smiled weakly. “Hey there, pail-mate… what’s going on?”

Skylla glared. “This is no time to be fooling! I got a message from the ship up there — they’re scrambling ground troops to attack the caverns.”

“No…” Bronya’s face went very pale and her eyes were wide. “That can’t be… we… Tyzias said…”

“Tyzias is the first one who messaged me. Whatever’s happening, it ain’t going to plan.” Skylla walked over and looked down at Elwurd. “What happened to you? Can you be moved?”

Elwurd gave her a half-smile and tried to shrug. That hurt a bit much, apparently, because she winced and settled on a little _so-so_ motion of her hand. “Oh, you know, just got shot by a pissed-off indigo because I wouldn’t let him raise the next Empress. Pretty normal stuff, really.”

As she was talking, one of the other jades came running in — the stuffy one that was always wearing a sweater vest. She took one look at Skylla and it looked like her pusher started beating twice as fast.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, nervously.

“Lynera,” Bronya said quietly, “I believe that Miss Koriga has information relevant to what you and Daraya are doing right now.”

Skylla swore under her breath and spoke up. “If you mean y’all are fucking getting us out of here, then yeah. For the last fucking time — there is an Imperial ground strike getting ready to launch. We have maybe twenty or thirty minutes to not be here or we’re going to have to deal with a bunch of rust blood commandos hopped up on combat enhancers.”

She hadn’t been in the Army for very long before she’d been almost blown up and her life changed forever, but Skylla knew enough to know generally what was going to happen. The Empire was going to land a few shuttles full of commandos outside the caverns, then they were going to launch an attack. The commandos would storm the caverns, and they would kill everyone inside. They would make at least a passing effort to not kill lusii and grubs, but there were absolutely no guarantees. Skylla might’ve once said they would probably try to spare the jades, seeing them as neutral parties. But after seeing what happened to Everdim, she was pretty sure that was off the table forever.

Bronya was already on her feet. “Lynera, go and get Daraya and finish preparations to move into the deep passages. Are all the lusii ready?”

Lynera nodded. “Yes, but…”

Skylla cut her off — “I can help. I used to wrangle lusii all the time before the Army scooped me up. I’d be pleased as punch to help out.”

Bronya smiled at her. “I appreciate that. Go with Lynera to get things ready. I will rally the rest of the jades and ensure that Elwurd here is seen to.” She walked over and put a hand gently on Lynera’s arm — the next thing she said was addressed to her directly. “Please be careful. I never meant for this to happen to you.” She leaned in and kissed Lynera on the cheek and Skylla saw the jade’s face flush green.

* * *

The walk down to the lower caverns, where the lusii were typically corralled, wasn’t a long one. Lynera kept looking over at Skylla warily. Eventually, Skylla couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“What is it y’all keep looking at, anyway?” She tried not to sound too annoyed, but her nerves were frayed pretty thin at that point.

“Nothing. Just you. You’re tall.” She smiled.

“Uh… yeah. Always been big, I guess. Helped with the lusii… also why the Army wanted me I suppose.”

Lynera’s smile got a little broader and a little dopier. “You’re pretty too!”

Skylla was having a hard time believing that this was actually happening right now. “Are you serious? You missed the part I said earlier about the folks coming to kill us?” Skylla squinted. “You’re… not worried about that at all?”

Lynera shrugged and smiled to herself. “I’m completely terrified. I feel like if I think about it for more than a second I’m going to lose my mind.” She laughed — Skylla hated to hear how _afraid_ that laugh sounded. “So I’m going to take any chance I can for distraction. Did you know my pitch crush fucked me up against a storage shelf a little while ago? And then we both almost died.” She laughed again.

“Oh… yeah… uh…” Skylla wasn’t sure exactly _how_ to respond to any of this. “You’re certainly being very… forthcoming right now.”

A nervous laugh, and Lynera fidgeted with her sweater vest. “Sorry. I’m just not used to facing death every day. I’m not like you Army folks at all.”

Skylla shook her head. “I’m not one of them Army folks at all.”

“But the video broadcast said you were a hero… well, you fought some people. Maybe hero isn’t the right word.”

“Hoofbeast shit,” Skylla snorted. “I was a recruit who hadn’t even gone offworld yet. Just survived the bombing because I got so sad at losing my lusus that I had to go cry out by the gaper. So that’s about how heroic I am.”

They finished descending the stairs to the area where the lusii were kept. Lynera showed Skylla over to a small pen that had a series of large, hoofed lusii mounted up with carrying bags for grubs and eggs. Without breaking stride, Lynera began walking to each of the lusii and talking to them quietly. Skylla watched her carefully, moving closer to the lusii but not wanting to spook any of them.

“I think you’re heroic for being here,” Lynera said quietly. “It sounds like you could’ve just kept saying the lies they told you to on the video broadcasts. You wouldn’t have had to ever go into combat.”

“No, I reckon not,” Skylla said. “Probably be on a permanent tour as a symbol of the great Alternian Army or some similar nonsense.”

“But you wouldn’t have been happy with that, would you?” Lynera scratched a large deercat lusus under the chin and smiled. “I think… maybe I’m starting to realize how that feels.”

Skylla squinted at her and walked over to the deercat, putting her hand in its thick fur and feeling the warmth of its flank. _I miss Ladyy so fucking much._ “How _what_ feels, exactly?”

“Realizing that your life is a prison.” She said it in the most matter-of-fact tone. And the thing of it was — Skylla understood exactly what she meant. She walked to the other lusii, brushing them down in turn and soothing them just like she once had on her ranch. A ranch that seemed impossibly far away now — locked behind the impenetrable walls of the past.

In her pocket, the palmhusk buzzed quietly… and Skylla felt her stomach knotting up.

kull4hire began chatting with countryyladyy452 at 0949 AST (0049 AUT)

Konyyl

I really hope you’re okay   
Because things are about to get very hot down there

I overheard a couple of the Sub-Commanders talking about the strike   
They’re planning to be there top of the hour   
As soon as the trial starts up again

Skylla

What the fuck?! That gives us ten minutes!

Konyyl

Ten minutes before planetfall   
Maybe another ten before contact

Skylla

Fuck. Okayy — thanks.

“Can you handle these lusii?” Skylla asked Lynera quickly. “Just get ‘em ready to move. We don’t have a lot of time.” Lynera nodded, and Skylla took off back up the stairs without waiting for her to say anything.

* * *

Skylla ran into Bronya on her way back up to the common room — the jade blood was hurrying in a flurry of activity. At least she wasn’t wasting any time getting ready. As soon as Bronya saw Skylla’s face, she stopped in her tracks.

“They’re coming, aren’t they?”

Skylla grit her teeth. “Yeah. We got maybe fifteen minutes to be on our way out of here. Y’all got anything to defend yourselves with?” It would hardly matter against the commandos, but anything was better than nothing. But Bronya shook her head and Skylla inwardly cursed.

“We only have the pistol that Mr. Xigisi tried to use to attack Lynera and Daraya. I have it right here,” she reached into a concealed pocket and pulled out a pistol. Skylla recognized the design — a Fleet officer’s pistol. Maybe another dozen rounds in the magazine.

“Fuck!” she yelled. “Give it to me.” She reached out and Bronya handed her the weapon, seemingly glad to not have to hold onto it anymore. Skylla quickly checked the chamber and safety, then put the gun away in her belt. “Go on and round everyone up. Take what they’ve got packed and can carry.”

Bronya looked hurt by this — her eyes watered. “We… we’re going to lose so _much_ of the knowledge we have here. Hundreds of sweeps of it…”

“That shit’s not important right now. Y’all don’t get moving, you’re going to lose it forever because you’ll have a bullet through your damn think pan.” She scowled at Bronya until the jade blood nodded quickly. “Good, that’s what I thought.” Skylla was about to dash back to the lusii cave when she felt Bronya’s hand on her arm.

“Wait. There’s something else… the… the mother grub. She won’t survive the trip.” Bronya’s eyes were watering again — she looked like she was about to break down. “I don’t know what to do…”

“If you leave her, they’ll find more jades to come down here. Someone else to pick up the slack. But not you… not anymore.”

Bronya nodded sharply. “Okay. Look… there’s one thing we can do, but I’ll need your help. There are explosives locked up to use for excavation in the caverns. We can use them to 1 — seal off our retreat and… maybe… 2 — to stop the attackers long enough to get away.”

_Now that’s the kind of gal I like._ Skylla felt like smiling, but it seemed inappropriate. “Okay, lead me to ‘em and we’ll set something up. We don’t have much time.”


	48. Testimony of the Sentinel

the 7th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0101 AUT

Polypa kept her gaze straight ahead, out over the assembled crowd in the gallery. As the Sergeant-at-Arms, her job was mostly ceremonial, although she was technically responsible for security at the trial. She was, after all, the person in the room who was armed.

_I should shoot Tagora Gorjek in the fucking head._ It was a wild, irrational thought and it was gone as soon as it touched her mind. She wasn’t going to pretend why he’d decided to flip from helping the rebellion to telling the High Imperator where they were hiding. And why hadn’t he bothered to mention the involvement of Tyzias and Stelsa? _It doesn’t really feel like he’s got much of a plan, honestly._

Maybe that was it. Maybe there was no plan.

* * *

“Marvus? Can I ask you something?” Polypa was standing guard over Marvus while he got ready for the continuation of the trial after their recess. Technically she didn’t think she was strictly necessary if anyone tried to attack the massive purple blood, but she _was_ armed so maybe that helped a little.

Marvus nodded. “Girl, you feel free. We’re both in the same show here.”

She hesitated — this felt like a question she might not want to ask. “What is… what’s the end goal here? What is this trial going to actually do for the Empire?”

Marvus narrowed his eyes and the smile that was usually on his face faltered. “Why… that’s a damn dangerous question to be askin, huh?”

Polypa straightened her back and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I was just curious. I’ll shut up now.”

And then the smile was back, easy and casual. Marvus waved a hand at her. “Nah, girl, I’m just playin with you. No reason a fellow performer can’t ask a little bit of behind-the-scenes, especially with you helpin me the way you are. See, this whole rebellion thing is something the Empress doesn’t want to be dealin with, girl. She is _done_ with this, and cuttin off the head is gonna work wonders for getting things back on track.”

“Do you believe that Mal— the Apostate is the actual rebel leader?” she asked quietly. Marvus simply shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter. He’s a useful figurehead here. Mallek will end up sending a message to anyone who tries to go against the Empress. Wasn’t expectin that bit with the jade caverns though — that’s some motherfuckin _high drama._ ” He shook his head. “Real shame about the caverns…”

Mallek turned to Polypa and he winked. “I hope they know what’s comin.”

“Marvus…” she spoke in a low voice. “Can I ask you something else? Something more… sensitive?”

He raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say no.

“Why are you doing this? You… you know that Tagora was in contact with the rebels before. That he was passing information to them. You could just… bring the whole thing down.”

“Who says I want to be doing _that?_ ” Marvus raised an eyebrow — and Polypa felt a cold shudder rush through her. But Marvus laughed. “Nah, girl, I’m playin’ with you. This is all a fuckin game to them. To the Empress and the High Imperator — all of them. No sense in fighting it… just gotta play it to the end.” But he winked at her… and she felt like there was still something she wasn’t seeing.

* * *

“Welcome back, my fellow Alternians, to the trial of the Apostate!” Marvus called out over the crowd. “We had a bit of a delay — since Prosecutor Gorjek informed us of the new development regarding the rebellion! Don’t you worry — we’ll be dealing with them soon as can be! And up here, we’ll make sure we hold their leader accountable.”

Polypa couldn’t see him, but she could practically feel his gaze turn downward.

“Prosecutor Gorjek — I give you the floor.”

Tagora paced the stage in front of where Mallek was being restrained, barely visible out of the corner of Polypa’s eye. He had a nervous energy to him now that he didn’t before. _Are you having second thoughts about selling your friends out?_ Were they even his friends? It was almost impossible to divine his motives at this point.

“Thank you, Your Honorable Tyranny.” Was his voice shaking ever-so-slightly? Was he starting to lose his composure? “I will now call the second Accuser — Initiate Stelsa Sezyat of the Legiscorpus Auditerrorization Division.”

From below, Polypa saw the movement as Stelsa made her way to the stairs to the stage. Polypa stepped back to let her take the stage — and she swore she could see a glower behind the troll’s glasses. Polypa stepped back into place, carefully negotiating her way around the deactivated warhead, and took her place on the stage once more.

* * *

“You’re still tryin to figure me out, aren’t you, girl?” Marvus smiled in a way that was surprisingly soft as he said it. “It’s okay — you’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

“I just… I don’t understand. What I did is technically treason. Why didn’t you just turn me in?”

“Tell me something, girl — why’d you let those rebels know what was going on? Why’d you tell Mallek what was gonna happen and help them get out?”

She stood frozen in place. She knew, abstractly, that he likely knew what she’d been up to. But to actually hear it said plainly like this.

“Girl, I ain’t gonna turn you in,” Marvus grinned. “I’m just curious. I didn’t talk about this or Tagora’s little weasel or anything else.” Polypa stared — how did he know so much about what was happening? Marvus tapped the side of his forehead. “Seriously, girl.”

“I…” _Should I tell him the truth? Does he already know the truth?_ “I didn’t want the people in Everdim to die. And…” She swallowed heavily. “I didn’t want the rebels to die either.”

“Oh, now we’re getting somewhere!” Marvus clapped his hands. “Girl, you are bein _honest_ with me here. I genuinely appreciate it.” He stood up, and Polypa instinctively flinched… but all he did was stretch and then sit back down. “Which means, I think it’s time I was honest with you about something else. You remember that story I was tellin you before? The one about the nameless purple blood and the trial of the Signless?”

Polypa nodded.

“You want to hear some more of it?”

Polypa nodded again.

“All right, girl — settle in… cause it just gets better and better.

See, I said before that they hadn’t come up with the idea of the Accusers quite yet. And that’s true… true enough, anyway… but maybe not _all_ true, ya know? Sometimes the truth isn’t the whole truth, if you get my meaning.

They didn’t have _Accusers_ in the sense of what we do now, but there was someone who was going to testify against the Signless. If it’s not clear, this takes place a bit before that whole thing with the purple getting killed and what the Signless said to him and all that. Takes place not too long before that, as a matter of fact.

Neophyte Redglare calls up someone to testify to the Signless’ crimes — she calls up a woman who went by the title of the Sentinel. Her actual name is lost to time, of course, but some say that she was an olive blood known for her cool head and general commitment to doin the right thing.

“If that was the case, why’d she turn against the Signless?” Polypa asked the question before she realized what she was saying. Marvus looked at her meaningfully.

“Interesting.” That was all he said… and then he kept telling his story.

Redglare calls the Sentinel up on the stage where they had the Signless all chained up, and she asks her what the Signless has been up to. The Sentinel explains — he’s been plotting against the Empress, fighting against the Empire, all that good stuff. Pretty boring. But see, then she says something strange — she looks at the Signless directly and she says… and this is right down in Redglare’s account of the trial.

_You planned to unmake this world, and I can’t let you do that._

The Signless doesn’t respond, or if he does we don’t know it — Redglare didn’t bother to write anything else down. But I guess she found that fitting enough to put to paper. That someone would find herself that against the idea of the old world being replaced by a new one that she’d turn against the man who she’d been so loyal to.

That’s the terrible beauty of Alternia — it might oppress everyone. It might turn us all against each other. It might be a system built on injustice — a bad system that relies on the exploitation of the weak. But it’s _a_ system. And sometimes the idea of having a system is more important to people than being free.

Marvus laughed as he finished. “But what the fuck am I talkin about, girl? The Signless died — the purple blood’s name was forever wiped away and his sign removed from the records. No one knows what happened to the Sentinel. Probably she got caught up in what happened with Redglare — maybe helped hunt her down. Things get pretty hazy at that point.”

Something about his face — about the way he was looking at her — made her think there was something more to this story. Some final piece that hadn’t clicked into place yet. But Marvus… Marvus knew more than he was saying. Behind that easy smile, there was something hiding that hadn’t yet had the moment come when it would be revealed.

But soon.

Polypa knew it would be soon.

* * *

Stelsa’s voice stayed even as she spoke — no matter what she was feeling, she had the ability to turn on her performance when it mattered. Polypa could hear every word she said, clearly enunciated and amplified.

“Apostate — you have aided and abetted the rebel elements who were responsible for the bombing of the High Court flagship Auctoritatis. As a direct result of your actions, many members of the High Court lost their lives in an undignified manner which belied their superior station in life. Your crimes in this regard are unforgivable, and you are accused thusly. How do you respond?”

Polypa didn’t turn back to look, but she heard Mallek’s voice from behind her. “I hope it all burns to the fucking ground.”

There was a whispered commotion from the assembled crowd, but Tagora quickly raised his voice to bring the trial under control. “Thank you, Accuser, for your testimony. You are dismissed.”

Polypa turned to see Stelsa shoot Tagora a withering glance as she walked off down the staircase and disappeared into the thick shadows at the bottom of the stage. With her gone, Tagora turned to Mallek again.

“Apostate, you have been accused rightfully for your crimes against the Empire. You have been responsible for deaths of countless many — the high bloods you and your collaborators murdered in cold blood… the citizens of Everdim, who your actions brought under the righteous fire of the Empire’s justice. Do you have any final pleadings before I turn this matter over to his Honorable Tyranny?”

From above, another voice sounded — the high, clear tones of Trizza Tethis. “Oh my fucking shit this is so boring. Can you just get on with it already? I’m dying up here!”

The court went utterly silent — Polypa could practically hear the gears turning in Tagora’s thinkpan. Fortunately for him, Marvus stood up and addressed the court.

“Her Impassioned Imperious Majesty has spoken! The court will take another brief recess to confer…” He grinned broadly and waved a hand out over the assembled court. “When we return, I will render my judgement on the Apostate!”

* * *

“I guess… I don’t understand the point of the story?” Polypa could hear the confusion in her own voice… and when did she get to the point where she was talking so casually with this high blood about this? Marvus nodded.

“I know, girl. It’s a bit hard to follow. I thought maybe something in it would click with you, I guess. Sometimes it ain’t meant to be.” He shrugged. “Point being that it’s all good. This shit ain’t new and we ain’t the first ones to have to shovel it.”

She frowned. “I know. But… so many people died…”

“It happens, girl. Sometimes people die. Question is… do they die for a good reason or a bad reason?” He looked at her directly — looked right in her eyes. “Did they die to usher in a new era, or did they die to keep the corpse of a dying world warm for a few more sweeps.”

Polypa stared, but she didn’t say anything.

“That’s always the question, girl — the one we need to ask ourselves every day. If not… why even wake from the dream in the first place?”


	49. Burning Moonlight

the 7th night…

the Southern Caverns - 1016 local time (0016 AUT)

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 1016 AST (0016 AUT)

Daraya

▲You all set down there?▲

Lynera

-Are you sure about this?   
-!!!That you want to stay up there?!!!

Daraya

▲▲Awww, you worried about me.▲▲   
▲That’s ADORABLE!▲

Lynera

-!!!STOP IT!!!   
-I’m serious about this. This is so dangerous.

Daraya

▲▼Life’s dangerous.▼▲   
▼I’ll be fine.▼

Lynera

-!!!You better be!!!

Daraya

▲Look, just take care of your matesprit down there. I don’t want to see how mopey you get without Bronya around.▲

▲...and… take care of yourself.▲

Daraya put the palmhusk away and looked around the cavern entrance quickly. Skylla was there, of course — she was probably the only one who actually knew what she was doing with any of this. Maybe not much, but at least a little bit. Elwurd had stayed behind too, for some reason, despite her injuries still obviously giving her trouble. Last of all — the one who Daraya would never have expected — was Lanque. He had simply said he was going to stay behind with them to help the others escape. That was it — no fanfare or further explanation, but he was there all the same.

All the rest were below, already beginning their movement through the deep caverns and into the far passageway that would lead to the long underground roads that would, eventually, lead to another set of caverns entirely. They would all travel that road — that bridge into a new world…

...and then they would burn the bridge behind them. Skylla had helped them set up a series of excavation charges in a pattern that would cause a cascading collapse that would inevitably bring the whole passageway down for miles. No one knew about the passages except the jades who tended to the cavern… jades who would soon be on their way to a new life.

“Y’all understand the plan, right?” Skylla said quietly. They were all concealed in the entrance — Lanque had just come back to tell them that the assault shuttles had landed nearby and the Alternian Army commandos were on their way. They had maybe ten minutes, tops, before hell was unleashed. “We only get one go at this shit, and then that’s it.”

The others nodded in turn, and Daraya felt her guts swimming. She wasn’t even sure why she’d volunteered to do this. _Because they need every chance they can get._

“Good,” Skylla said. “They’re gonna breach here because it’s the only way in. We’re gonna let them toss their grenades and shit and then we’re gonna let them walk right in. And then…” She held up a detonator — the implication was obvious.

Daraya hated it — hated that the only way forward was to keep hurting people. Maybe it was irrational to hope for a world where that wasn’t needed anymore, but it didn’t stop Daraya from doing it anyway. She didn’t want to have to be unyielding — didn’t they all deserve a chance to just _live?_ Hadn’t the Empire taken its pound of flesh and then some?

She crouched down behind a heavy boulder and waited.

She didn’t have to wait for long.

The noise from the entrance to the cave was more than she’d imagined — a rustle and shift of feet running… soldiers taking their positions. Someone shouting _BREACH!_ and then — the world started to explode.

The rocks provided shelter from the blast, but the noise of the concussion grenades was deafening in the enclosed space of the entrance cavern. Daraya bent over and covered her ears, staring ahead at Skylla where she was crouched behind an opposite rock, holding the detonator in one hand and the Fleet pistol in her other. Her face was grim — set — and she looked like she was about to cry.

But she didn’t flinch. Daraya waited…

The noise of the feet running into the cavern — the sound of firing rifles echoing off the cavern roof as the soldiers fired into the caves… they weren’t there to preserve anything they found inside.

Skylla was counting to ten. When she got to ten, she pushed the button on the detonator.

Even with her ears covered, the noise was overwhelming. A massive blast of pressure and sound that practically put Daraya on her back. Most of the charges had been set up in the passageways below and they didn’t have enough to collapse the entrance, but it was enough to bring down a hail of rocks that crushed the advance team of the soldiers.

Without a word, Skylla broke from cover, the pistol raised high. But she didn’t fire — didn’t waste the precious few rounds that she had. Daraya ducked out, looking back at the cloud of dust and tangle of rock that choked the entrance. Whoever was under that was dead.

But there would be more. This was only a temporary delay. Skylla waved to the others, and they ran after her into the caverns.

* * *

They worked their way through the stairs down carefully, moving past the rooms where the jades had once made their quiet life. Past Bronya’s chambers… past Lynera’s room (which Daraya supposed she’d never see the inside of now… _pity, could’ve been nice_ )... past the nursery where Bronya had made her small stand against what the Empire told her was necessary.

Every so often, they slowed to carefully step over tripwires that were set up along the passageways and corridors leading down. Every place was marked with a small bit of paint — something that wouldn’t look out of place to a stranger but was a giant, glowing sign to the jades who’d made this place their home for sweeps.

“Maybe they’re all dead?” Lanque muttered as they stepped over another tripwire and ran down into the common room. “Maybe the whole team’s gone?”

Skylla shook her head. “No, they wouldn’t send them all in at once. We got maybe one squad, but they’ll have at least two more. How many shuttles did you see?”

“Two,” Lanque said quickly. “Definitely two.”

“Well then — that’s at least four dozen commandos.”

Daraya’s eyes grew wide and she felt a prickling all up her head. She had no idea how _many_ of them there’d be. She stammered out the words as she thought them — “that’s… that’s more than the jades that live here? Why do they need so many?”

Skylla glared. “Because they want us fucking dead. Point is there’s still more of ‘em.”

As if to punctuate her statement, they heard an explosion from above as one of the tripwire traps was set off. Another Alternian soldier most likely dead… or at least injured enough not to continue. Another explosion, then another. They were moving faster than expected.

“Find out if they’re gone!” Skylla yelled to Daraya.

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 1022 AST (0022 AUT)

Daraya

▼We’re on our way down and we got company!▼   
▼▼You on your way out?!▼▼

Lynera

-!!!YES!!!   
-We’re leaving now!!!!

Daraya

▼Good — you got like five minutes maybe▼

One more explosion, and Skylla shouted to the rest — “Okay, time to get the fuck moving!” This time, she put an arm under Elwurd’s shoulder and helped her move to the far door. The next set of stairs would lead down into the mother grub’s chamber and, eventually, to the deep caverns and the passages beyond. That would be their last opportunity to make a stand — either they would seal off the passage and escape or everyone in the cavern was going to be slaughtered.

_No fucking pressure, right._

Daraya followed Lanque after Skylla and Elwurd, carefully avoiding yet another tripwire that was set up in the doorway.

* * *

The caverns opened out into the mother grub’s chamber, and the way forward was a few hundred yards ahead. The explosions from above heralded the movement of the commandos down into the caverns. Daraya wondered how many of them were left — the traps wouldn’t get rid of more than a couple at a time. The idea of the four of them standing up against a few dozen commandos was laughable.

In the center of the cavern, the mother grub rolled around in her sopor bath, chittering softly. All the eggs and grubs had been packed on the lusii for transport — even the fuschia egg — and now the mother grub seemed to not fully understand what was happening.

“Will she be all right?” Daraya asked — she wasn’t sure who the question was directed at. Skylla shrugged.

“I don’t rightly know. Remember I was in the Army for all of a perigee before things went all the way south. Don’t reckon I know the way they think much better than you do, aside from the basics.”

They moved quickly across the chamber, past the mother grub, and behind the rocky outcroppings that would provide natural cover if they were attacked —

The sound of the gunfire echoed in the cavern and bullets snapped by, slamming into the rocks and throwing chunks of stone that Daraya could hear but not see. She ducked back with the others and started swearing under her breath. “Fuck fuck _fuck_ what do we do?!”

Skylla leaned out quickly and then pulled her head back as another round of gunfire hit the rocks. “There’s about a dozen of them and probably more coming soon. Maybe even calling for reinforcements.”

They needed to get to the far passage and blow the roof.

In the center of the chamber, the mother grub was screaming now — rolling and thrashing as the noise of the gunfire rang around her. She wasn’t used to any level of noise, much less the sound of a war starting around her.

She screamed louder, the sound of gunfire mixing with the cries.

Then she went quiet… the cries reduced to muffled moans. Then silence.

Daraya could feel the tears boiling from her eyes and her face burned hot with anger. Her whole life had been dedicated to these caverns… and no matter how much she resented that… no matter how much she wished she just had a _choice_ in the matter… she was still at home here. The mother grub had still been there as a constant. Because rebelling against their collective lusus wasn’t the same as wanting her gone.

Skylla put a hand on Daraya’s shoulder — her face was filled with understanding. This was a woman who knew how she felt. _We’ve all been there_ was what that face said. Daraya looked over at Elwurd and Lanque, crouched behind their own rock formation… and they looked the same.

They were all orphans.

From the head of the cavern, a clear voice rang out. “You’ve lost the mother grub… you’re trapped in here. If you come out now, we’ll bring you in alive.” It was one of the most transparent lies Daraya had ever heard. She pulled out her palmhusk quickly.

waywardspirit began chatting with foreverVigilant at 1027 AST (0027 AUT)

Daraya

▼Please tell me you’re clear of the passage!▼

Lynera

-!!!Just now!!!   
-!!!!What happened — we’re hearing explosions!!!!

Daraya

▼▼▼The mother grub is dead. We’re trapped in here.▼▼▼   
▼▼Might have to blow the cave from inside.▼▼

Lynera

-!!!!!!WHAT?! NO!!!!!!!

Daraya

▼▼Hey if I never see you again… I had a lot of fun with you earlier and you’re actually not all that bad. ▲▲▲

Lynera

-!!!If you get over here right now I promise we can do that as much as you want!!!   
-Just don’t fucking… die

Daraya

▲▲I love the energy...▲▲   
▼▼▼But I don’t think that’s how it’s gonna work▼▼▼   
▼Bye, Lynera▼

▲▲▲▲I hate you so much▲▲▲▲

With a small smile, Daraya stuffed the palmhusk away and leaned over toward Skylla. “So, how fucked are we?”

There was something about the look in Skylla’s eyes that Daraya wasn’t sure she liked. The bronze blood checked the chamber of the pistol quickly. “I ever tell you how I learned to shoot?”

_Why the fuck would that have come up?!_ But Skylla wasn’t really asking. “Ladyy took me out and handed me a little ol’ rifle and we went out to the swamp where all them hoofbeast flies flew around.” She checked the safety on the pistol. “Hard for a lusus to use a rifle, y’see, but Ladyy kept bugging me about practicing… she wouldn’t let me properly alone until I could take those flies out at twenty yards. Then when I was ready, we moved onto feral oinkbeasts.”

Skylla leaned around the rocks the smallest amount — not enough to be seen. She motioned to Elwurd and Lanque — _be ready._

“You know the trick to killing a feral oinkbeast?”

Daraya shook her head, and Skylla smiled — Daraya never realized how _sad_ a smile could be before.

“You shoot ‘em in the fucking head.”

She quickly leaned around the rock again, braced the pistol against it, and fired once. Daraya couldn’t see what happened, but the shouting from above and returning gunfire made it clear. Skylla shouted to the others — “NOW!”

She broke cover and ran directly to where Lanque and Elwurd were hunched behind the rock, taking the last of the trip in a slide. Gunfire followed her, but it wasn’t coordinated. Skylla turned and leaned around the rock again and fired twice, picking her shots. _How many does she have left?!_

Daraya knew she needed to move or she’d end up cornered. She dashed out — being out in the open was terrifying. The sound of gunfire was all around her as bullets buzzed past her like angry hornets. She slid in after Skylla and quickly patted herself down — at least she wasn’t hit.

“Okay, next one’s gonna be a shitter — we gotta move from cover to the bend up ahead and get under the rocks. I’m gonna lay down a couple shots and y’all are gonna run. Then I’m gonna run. You—” she pointed at Lanque — “you make sure Elwurd gets there in one piece. She’s in a bad way and you’re not.” The tone of her voice didn’t leave any room for dissent.

Skylla stepped out and raised the pistol — and Daraya didn’t think that she ever wanted to see the look in her eyes ever again. She ignored the gunfire spattering around her. She picked her shots.

The pistol rang once and Daraya ducked out to see one of the soldiers drop — their head a quick puff of bronze.

Daraya tapped Lanque’s shoulder. “Let’s fucking go!”

They ran out, ignoring everything but the way forward. It was just a few yards — a few dozen yards to freedom. Another shot from behind — the sound of the pistol and, Daraya knew, another commando that wouldn’t get up again.

One more shot, and then the sound of running and shouting behind her.

“Get the fuck moving!” Skylla called after them. “I ain’t got much left in this thing!”

More gunfire, more running. A few yards left. Once they were into the rocks, it would be hard to even see them. Once they were in the far passage, they’d be almost free.

Behind her, Skylla fired twice more, then continued running. The rocks ahead loomed — Lanque was already pulling Elwurd down to the side and out of the line of sight of the commandos above. Daraya reached the protrusion on the side of the rocks and ducked inside, turning back to see Skylla.

Skylla was limping, but Daraya couldn’t see if she’d been hit or if she’d just tripped on something. It didn’t matter — Skylla turned smoothly once more and fired three more times, then threw the gun down. _She’s out._

She slid around the rocks and they ducked from view. The soldiers behind them kept firing, but it wasn’t going to punch through the solid rock. _We’re gonna fucking make it!_

“You gotta catch up with the rest of ‘em — let’s get moving!” Skylla hurried them along, pushing Daraya ahead as she brought up the rear. In another half-minute, they were already at the entrance to the far cavern. Lanque turned and nodded to Daraya.

“I got her,” he said quickly. “You two catch up once you blow the passage. See you in a minute.” He hauled Elwurd with him and they quickly disappeared down the wide passage that led to the underground road that would, eventually, lead to their freedom. Daraya turned to follow…

Skylla didn’t move.

Daraya turned back. “What the fuck?! We’re going _now_ we don’t have time for this.”

She knew what was happening as soon as she saw the smile on Skylla’s face. _No no no fucking NO. We’re not fucking doing this today!_

“Get your ass in gear god damn it! They’re coming and you’re…” she looked down at the rusty stain spreading out on Skylla’s shirt. “You’re hit! Bronya needs to look at you right now!”

Skylla shook her head. “No. Ain’t gonna happen. You’re gonna run and I’m gonna stay here and blow the passage. Maybe give y’all a half-minute head start and this shit’s on a dead-troll’s switch so if I go down then time’s up. Run fast. Tell Elwurd I think she’s real fuckin pretty.”

“Fuck you, I’ll help you.” The noise of the soldiers was growing closer. They weren’t as willing to rush in now that several of their number had been picked off by Skylla’s expert aim.

“I’ve been on borrowed time and you’re not. Get the fuck out of here.” Skylla leaned up against the rocks and took out the detonator. “Thirty seconds.”

“Fuck!” Daraya put her hands up. “This is insane! What happens next?!”

Skylla shrugged. “No idea. If you ever meet the Seer, ask him about it.” She laughed. “Fuck… I’m just talking nonsense now on account of the blood loss.” She shoved Daraya hard toward the passageway and yelled out. “Thirty seconds!” And she collapsed against the side wall.

Daraya ran.

Down the passage, through the wide gates of stone that the lusii had already passed through. Along the smooth-floored corridor that led to the vast underground roads laid by jades who had lived and died two hundred sweeps ago. Jades who had never fully trusted their position under the Empress.

Ten seconds down the road. Daraya pushed herself faster than she’d ever run before. Her legs felt like they were burning underneath her, but still she pressed on.

Twenty seconds down the road. Daraya’s lungs were on fire and every nerve felt like it was lighting up. She swore she could hear the sound of the soldiers running after her, but that was impossible. The tears were flowing freely — the burning in her eyes wouldn’t stop. Because, at the end of it all, this wasn’t fair.

Thirty seconds. It wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t so much a sound as a _feeling._ A rushing wave of pressure that set off all around Daraya. She couldn’t stop moving — if she did that, then she’d be dead. She couldn’t see the others up ahead — that was good. They were already clear.

Above her, the ceiling of the passageway rumbled and buckled. The charges had been intended to blow apart the most stubborn rock, if used correctly. They had planted half of the charges they had. Enough to bring the whole ceiling down around them.

Ahead, Daraya could see the end of the passage — the part where the underground roads opened up. The underground roads that no one knew about — that would be sealed off forever from that end. They’d use the other half of their excavation charges on the other end of their journey… and the jades would never be heard from again.

She ran out of the passage right before it collapsed — the sound was thunderous as the rock came piling down on top of itself. For what felt like an eternity, the sound of the rock crumbling and falling and stacking until it might as well have been a solid wall was left.

She was free…

Daraya looked back at the rockfall that had become Skylla Koriga’s tombstone.

All alone now, she cried.


	50. Rage

the 7th night…

Legiscorpus Administrative Ship _Iustitia_ \- 0132 AUT

“Well well, folks, looks like it’s time to get this thing back under way!” Marvus called from the pulpit. Tyzias couldn’t see him, but she could certainly _hear_ him.

What she _could_ see — what was right in front of her — was Stelsa Sezyat. Stelsa was crying… they were out of sight of everyone now… it was all right to cry.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “I thought… why did he do that? Why do any of this, after he risked so much to bring us back here. For what? Just to rub this all in our faces?”

Tyzias shook her head — and she couldn’t help but feel that maybe Stelsa was right. Whatever plan Tagora had claimed to be concocting — whatever scheme was supposed to free Mallek and somehow let them get away with it — it seemed like it was crumbling around their ears. All they had left was to keep playing their parts and wait for a miracle.

Tyzias glanced down at the palmhusk.

ferventnihilist began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0126 AUT

Tyzias

really hope you’re okay   
not sure wwwwhat wwwwe’re doing up here but… at least let mmmme knowwww that the jades got out okay.

Tyzias frowned.

ferventnihilist began chatting with countryyladyy453 at 0133 AUT

Tyzias

let mmmme knowwww you’ve seen this at least   
wwwwhen you get a chance

“It’s…” Tyzias was about to tell her _it’s going to be okay_ but the words died heavy in her mouth. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.” That felt more honest. “I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this.”

“We should just run,” Stelsa hissed. “Go grab an escape shuttle and get out.”

It was a tempting idea, but what would it ultimately accomplish? They’d be shot down before they could even make it clear of the Iutstitia. It wouldn’t make a bit of difference if they ran, because there was nowhere to run to in the first place. Nowhere that the Empire _wasn’t._

From above, she could still hear Marvus talking — “You’ve all heard the Apostate’s crimes! You’ve all seen how he remains unrepentant even in this final hour! The Apostate represents everything that seeks to destroy this Empire!”

Marvus laughed. “So do we let this go? Do we let this monster destroy everything we hold dear? No!”

* * *

The counsel room was mostly empty — it was reserved for the use of the Legislacerators and this trial had precious few of them involved. Tagora was, perhaps wisely, choosing not to spend the recess with Stelsa and Tyzias.

They sat together on one of the longueplanks provided, held each other, and cried. Tyzias tucked Stelsa against her and closed her eyes.

“I don’t understand!” Stelsa said through her sobs. “I don’t understand how he could do something like this! After everything… I don’t even know what happened.”

Tyzias shook her head, but she didn’t say anything. She wasn’t even sure what she _could_ say. Galekh was dead — that was something that she knew for sure. Tagora couldn’t have known before he made his announcement. And he’d taken a big risk by calling out in the trial like that, even if Marvus had rolled with it. In the end, it had increased the drama of the trial… although it could’ve easily gone to getting Tagora killed.

There was a heavy knock on the door, and Tyzias looked up as Marvus Xoloto opened the door.

“What’re you two up to in here?” he asked as he stepped into the room. Tyzias squeezed Stelsa quickly and then sat up.

“Your Honorable Tyranny,” she said quickly, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. She didn’t think she was doing a particularly good job of it.

“Ah, don’t call me that. We should be on a first-name basis, girl… Tyzias. Stelsa.” He nodded to Stelsa with a smile. “Especially since you two been up to some real interesting stuff lately.”

Tyzias felt herself getting cold. “Honorable… Tyranny?”

“That is who I am, isn’t it?” Marvus sounded almost _sad_ to say it. “I’m as much the Honorable Tyranny as you are a Neophyte or she’s an Initiate…” A smile — a smile that looked worn to the point of breaking. “But I know you’ve both been keeping company with some folks that the Empire might not necessarily approve of.”

The cold feeling was getting worse. “I don’t…”

But Marvus shook his head. “Don’t lie to me, girl. But… don’t worry about it. I ain’t gonna tell anyone. But I _am_ gonna ask you just one tiny, little favor…”

* * *

“Honorable Tyranny… is there any chance you could advance this along?” It was the first time the High Imperator had spoken throughout the trial, and the sound of his voice sent shivers down Tyzias’ back. “I have received word that our assault team has met some resistance from the jade cavern and I would like to ensure the Commander on duty is sufficiently competent to handle themselves.”

She and Stelsa exchanged worried glances. From above, they heard Marvus speaking again. “Of course, High Imperator. I am nothing if not your humble servant.”

Marvus cleared his throat. “For hundreds of sweeps, the Order of the Subjugglators has been tasked with executing the justice of the Empress. This is as true now as it was back when the Grand High Blood himself oversaw the Order.” A swell of excitement passed through the gallery, and Marvus paused before continuing. “As such… it is duty to ask our Prosecutor to list all charges against the Apostate and hear their final responses.”

_It’s all about dragging out his humiliation._ They could easily just shoot Mallek in the head, but they didn’t _want_ to just kill him — they wanted to make his death a spectacle. It was important to destroy even the _idea_ of what he was. Even if what he was just happened to be someone who fell into revolution sideways.

Tagora lifted his voice, letting the amplification catch it fully. “Our first accusation — the Apostate did aid the terrorists who assaulted the Southern Regional Training Command. How do you respond, Apostate?”

“Fuck off,” Mallek said.

“Very well — it is so noted. Our second accusation — that the Apostate did provide material aid, support, and leadership to the terrorists who bombed the Auctoritatis. How do you respond, Apostate?”

Mallek laughed. “You know I actually believed you were on our side, Tagora?”

Tyzias heard Tagora draw in his breath… but no one said anything else. He composed himself quickly — she had to give him credit for that.

“Our final accusation — that the Apostate knowingly withheld critical information from the High Imperator, thus forcing a needless attack on the City of Everdim. How do you respond?”

_That’s a new one. They must’ve just added it._

“You…” Mallek stuttered from the stage. “You fuck…”

“Noted,” Tagora said sharply. “Your Honorable Tyranny, we have outlined the accusations before the Apostate. The Apostate has… little to say on the matters at hand. I would now submit this case to you for judgement.”

“All right,” Marvus said loudly. “Let’s get this thing going.”

“Very well, Your Honorable Tyranny,” Tagora said quickly. “I will now take my leave.”

Tagora skittered down the stairs quickly, and as he passed Tyzias… she could’ve sworn she saw regret in his eyes.

* * *

Tyzias looked at Stelsa, who fixed her with a confused stare. She looked back at Marvus, who was standing patiently and tapping a large, gold-topped cane on the ground. Tyzias didn’t remember seeing him with it before.

“Just a simple thing, girl — one little favor you do for me, and I’ll forget about all the stuff I know about you and your friends. It’s a damn better deal than the Imperator of the Empress would give you.”

The sad thing of it was that he was right. Tyzias wasn’t even sure why Marvus was still letting them live. Overall, it didn’t seem like they had much of a choice.

“Come on now,” Marvus chided. “Real quick and you can get back to crying together… go back to a life of red/black vacillation and waiting for the noose to close around your neck.” Tyzias’ mouth hung open at that.

Marvus nodded. “Or you can just do me… one little favor.”

“Okay,” Tyzias said. “What is it?”

“Simple. When Sergeant Polypa leads the Apostate off the stage to his fate, you follow her and you don’t ask any fuckin questions.”

* * *

Before Marvus could continue, another voice came from the uppermost pulpit. “Look, let’s get this thing done with, okay? I’ve got stuff to do that isn’t boring AF. Getting ready to get up and stretch my legs already.”

“Very well, Your Impassioned Imperious Majesty,” Marvus responded. “I’ll make this shit _quick._ Apostate — you stand accused of crimes against the Empire which can’t be forgiven. You are hereby found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death, to be carried out by the High Ultor’s office immediately.”

“Excellent,” the voice of the High Imperator sounded out, echoing in the great hall. “Now that this utter waste of time has been concluded, I will return to my actual duties.”

“Now hold up a minute,” Marvus said. “Let’s let the Sergeant there take the prisoner off properly and I got a little bit to say for our audience. Would be bad form to just run off, you feel me?”

“Fine.” The High Imperator sounded bored more than anything else. “If it pleases the Empress.”

The Empress responded, her voice bored — “Sure, whatever.”

Marvus spoke again — “Sergeant-at-Arms, escort the prisoner away.”

“Yes, Your Honorable Tyrannt,” came the response. From the stage, Tyzias could hear the sound of restraints dropped to the ground, then being fastened in place again. Tyzias stepped back, craning her neck to see up to the stage. She could see Marvus descending from the pulpit and looking at Mallek… he looked… almost _sad_ to see him.

“Thank you, Sergeant. And while you escort the prisoner out, let me finish this up with a bit of a story… something I think we should all keep in mind.”

Polypa was moving down the stairs with Mallek ahead of her. He was still restrained, and he looked utterly defeated in that moment. This was where his story ended — where his lineage would finally die out. Not in some great act of revolution, but in the small fate of a ignominious death.

As soon as Polypa passed Tyzias, she hissed out. “Come on.” Tyzias followed her closely, with Stelsa right behind. Slowly, they walked up the long staircase that led up to the back of the gallery. All around them, the ground whispered and jeered at Mallek. From the stage, they could hear Marvus clearly.

“I want to tell you all about the trial of the Signless…”

* * *

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Tyzias finally said. “Why does it matter? We’re not involved in securing the prisoner. We’re not involved in turning him over to the High Ultor for execution. Why…” She drew in a quick breath. “Why do we have to see all of that? What possible reason is there for it?”

Marvus smiled at her and reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. Strangely enough, it felt like the gesture of an old friend.

“Girl… you don’t need to worry about that yet. You just need to listen to me… just this once.”

* * *

They were halfway up the stairs and Marvus was almost done with his story. The story about the nameless purple blood and the Signless. And something felt wrong about all of this. Tyzias kept close to Polypa.

From the stage, Marvus kept talking. “The Signless, he asks the purple blood over and he whispers something so quiet that no one else can hear it. The purple’s face changes… he steps away from the Signless and there’s something in his eyes, and you can tell that there’s something wrong.”

Marvus paused and Polypa seemed to move a bit faster. She turned back to Tyzias. “Keep up already, okay?” Her face was worried.

“That purple turns to the Empress and he tells her that he can’t do this anymore. In fact, he thinks they should _let the Signless go._ ” Marvus laughed, and throughout the gallery there was a rush of voices all talking at once, wondering aloud what the point of all of this was. Tyzias turned back to the stage to see Marvus standing in the center, leaning on his cane. Up above, in the pulpit, the High Imperator was leaning forward with a look of curiosity on his face. Even higher up… the Empress was sitting up.

“Come on, we need to keep going,” Polypa said under her breath as they kept walking. “All three of you… get your asses in gear.”

Tyzias couldn’t take it anymore — “But what does it matter?” she asked, feeling the defeat in her voice.

From the stage, Marvus’ voice boomed out again — rising in volume and caught by the amplifier.

“You see… the Signless said something to the purple blood that day. Something that no one else ever heard, because shortly after they were both dead.” Marvus paused… and the world seemed to go quiet.

“He told that purple blood… _Seer, Skaia will end in fire._ ”

Polypa’s eyes went wide. “We need to go _now!_ ” She began to run up the stairs, hauling Mallek along with her. Tyzias grabbed Stelsa’s hand and they rushed after.

“Why?! Why is this so important?!” Tyzias cried after her.

Polypa shouted back, no longer worried about how many others heard — “Because the warhead is live!”

Tyzias looked back to the stage, and the connection was made all in one moment.

Marvus tapped his cane on the ground.

And the stage disappeared.

* * *

“Fine, we’ll do what you asked. Just… what happens after that?”

“Oh,” Marvus said quietly. “You know… this and that.” He walked out of the room, but before he left, he looked back at the two of them and smiled one last time. “Just look out for each other, you feel me?”

* * *

Tyzias had never seen a concussion bomb go off so close before — never realized how quickly everything would happen. Never imagined how the stage would go from existing to not existing in the blink of an eye.

The blast from the explosion almost put her off her feet, but the shockwave had been deflected by the first few rows of the gallery. Smoke was everywhere. Where the stage had been, there was now a blasted crater. The pulpit was mostly gone, with only the uppermost portion still teetering on the foundation. The structure must have been reinforced and armored — and at the top of it, Tyzias saw something that she wanted to forget for the rest of her life.

The Empress was standing on top of the pulpit, and she was screaming. Very much alive, and furious in a way that Tyzias had never seen before.

Polypa reached back and grabbed Tyzias by the arm. “We need to get the fuck out of here. There’s an escape shuttle prepped and ready for us, but we’re almost out of time. We need to make a stop first.”

“What about…” Tyzias looked back again at the ruins of the stage. It was a stupid thing she was about to ask. Marvus and the High Imperator had been too close to the center of the blast.

“We need to get the _fuck_ out of here!” Polypa said again. She was already working on the restraints around Mallek’s arms, slipping them off. No one was paying any attention to them — they were running screaming or rushing about trying to decide what to do. Even the Empress, standing atop the pulpit, was unable to do anything.

The shackles fell from Mallek’s arms and he rubbed his wrists gingerly. Polypa grabbed him and continued up the stairs. “We don’t have time for this.”

Tyzias scrambled to keep up, taking the stairs two-at-a-time. The smoke from the blast was already filling the grand hall, and the combination of the dense, acrid fumes and the press of hundreds of panicking spectators made the space condense down and press in around them. Tyzias fought forward up the stairs, trying to get closer to Polypa and Mallek… pushing through the smoke and the haze and the confusion…

* * *

They burst through the door at the top, stumbling out with the rest of the crowd and keeping their heads down. The chaos was so complete — so all-encompassing — that no one even seemed to take notice of the fact that Mallek was no longer restrained. Polypa quickly led them down a side corridor, moving away from the grand hall and toward where the escape shuttles were docked.

“What are we supposed to do when we’re out?” Tyzias said, struggling to catch her breath and feeling the smoke still burning at her lungs. “I don’t know exactly where the jade settlement is.”

Polypa shook her head. “We’ll figure that out when we get clear. First things first.” She crouched down and unslung the rifle from her shoulder as a group of trolls ran by in the corridor ahead. But the trolls didn’t pay them any mind — they might as well be invisible in the chaos that was rapidly consuming the ship. Polypa visibly relaxed as soon as they passed, and the group continued down the winding corridors as quickly as possible.

“Don’t land somewhere with a lot of people,” Polypa said quickly. She was talking like she wasn’t going to be with them, and that fact didn’t escape Tyzias. “Get somewhere out of the way and get in contact with the others. Be ready to move on foot and avoid the drones. This is going to be utterly insane for… well, who fucking knows.”

They took a series of turns, moving closer to the docks… and then they stopped dead.

Tagora Gorjek was standing in the corridor ahead of them.

Tyzias walked forward, her fists balled. “I’m going to rip you apart, Gorjek! You fucking betrayed us! We had a plan!” She raised her fists.

And stopped. Tyzias saw the small, white shape wriggling in Tagora’s arms. She looked down and her eyes grew wide. “Is that… a lusus?”

“It’s my lusus,” Tagora said quickly. “Take him with you. Take him away from this place.”

Polypa walked up next to Tyzias and raised the rifle. “Why shouldn’t I just shoot you and leave you to die? I feel like it’d be appropriate, given the circumstances you left the others in.”

“What’s your big reason?” Tyzias asked with a growl. “Money? Influence? Power? Just simple survival?”

But Tagora shook his head. “I was scared and angry. When I saw that Galekh died I… I didn’t take it well. I just wanted… more than anything I wanted to hurt whoever had done it.”

“So you…” Tyzias’ voice lowered as she struggled to control herself. “You thought the best thing to do was possibly sign the death warrants of a couple dozen people in trade.

Tagora stared down at the ground… and Tyzias thought that she saw genuine remorse in his face for the first time she could remember.

“Just… take him with you and leave me here. At least… at least don’t make my lusus suffer for what I did.”

Polypa stepped forward, slung the rifle over her shoulder, and scooped up the small ferret lusus in her arms. It wriggled around quickly, but almost immediately calmed down when she started petting it under the chin.

“I’m not going to forgive you, Gorjek,” Tyzias said in a low voice. “Don’t ever come looking for us, or we’ll kill you.”

She walked past him — they all did — and never said another word to him in her life.

* * *

The corridors got less and less crowded as they moved toward the escape shuttles. Battle stations sounded, calling everyone back to their duty posts… but with the High Imperator dead that was going to be a difficult task to manage. The actual docking ramp was all but deserted.

Deserted except for a single troll, sitting up against the wall. She was a massive troll, decked out in olive green and the armor that was typically issued to the guards on board the Iustitia. She was also, by all reckoning, crying her eyes out.

Polypa approached her first. “Specialist Okimaw?” The troll looked up and nodded — then she looked at the others and recognition dawned in her eyes.

“You’re… you’re the ones who were in the trial. And you’re… leaving?”

“Yes,” Polypa responded. “We’re leaving. And either you let us go or I will shoot you and walk by you. Your choice.”

The troll on the ground smiled sadly and shook her head. “I had a feeling. It was all such a coincidence. She started messaging me all this stuff about going against the Empire and all that and then… then this all happens, and she won’t respond to my messages now.”

“Who?” Tyzias asked softly. “Who isn’t answering your messages?”

“Skylla Koriga,” The olive blood said. “If I had to bet… I’d say she was down there. And then… and then she sent me this…”

The olive blood held out a palmhusk.

countryyladyy453 began chatting with kull4hire at 0129 AUT

Skylla

I love yyou.

_She’s dead._ It was the first thought that popped into Tyzias’ head, and the utter certainty of it scared her.

“Come with us,” she said quietly. “We’re going somewhere that the Empire isn’t.”

But the olive blood shook her head. “No. I’m not going to run away. I might’ve lost someone I care about, but I’ve still got someone else in the Fleet. Things are gonna get bad… I need to be there for them.”

She sighed. “Skylla would’ve told me to do it.”

Tyzias looked down at her… and nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

Leaving the olive blood sitting on the floor, they all walked to the nearest escape shuttle. Fortunately the emergency on the ship hadn’t shut down the escape shuttles. To the contrary, they were all prepped and ready to launch at a moment’s notice. All of them ran into the shuttle and Mallek closed the door after them. As quickly as possible, Tyzias and Stelsa strapped themselves into a seat, with Mallek following their example moments later. Polypa strapped the lusus into another seat, before taking her place behind the central console in the front of the shuttle.

The system was largely automated, so all that Polypa really needed to do was enter coordinates and go. Tyzias couldn’t see what she was typing, but she was typing _quickly._ Tyzias braced herself, waiting for the inevitable feeling of acceleration as the shuttle launched.

Stelsa reached out towards her, extending a hand.

Tyzias took it, and she squeezed tightly.

Somewhere in the depths of the shuttle, something clicked on as the automated launch sequence finally engaged. That feeling of acceleration hit, and the shuttle moved forward.

A minute later, they were finally free.


	51. What Burns Away in Starlight

the 7th night…

the Far Passage - 1112 local time (0212 AUT)

Chixie didn’t know what had happened, but she knew that the sounds of gunfire and explosions that had been filtering through the caverns weren’t good things. She definitely knew enough to know that. The final explosion had been particularly thunderous — obviously the charges set to collapse the tunnels. They had all stopped to rest after that… either they were safe or the Alternian Army had gotten through before the tunnel collapsed and they were all already dead anyway.

Forty-five minutes later, three figures came limping around the corner.

But only three.

Chixie recognized them instantly… Daraya, Elwurd, and the male jade blood… she thought his name was Lanque. They looked worn and tired… like they’d walked through hell to get where they were. Elwurd was visibly starting to bleed through her bandages, even from a distance.

Chixie stood up and ran to her, sliding a shoulder under her arm and helping her along. Elwurd managed a weak smile.

“Heyyyy… you feeling okay? You look pretty shaken up?” She asked, sounding like was actually her who was shaken up. Chixie didn’t respond… she just started crying. Elwurd leaned up against her. “It’s… ‘s okay… ‘m sorry.”

She started to slide down and Chixie quickly helped her back up. “Okay… let’s get you patched up and on the back of one of the lusii. There’s no way you’re walking the length of this underground in your condition.”

Elwurd smiled at her. “Thanks… I guess… that’s probably a good idea.” She sounded like she was about to pass out, so Chixie helped her over to the side and sat her down to go get help.

* * *

Lynera looked at Daraya — Daraya, covered in soot and dust and sweat — and she ran over to her without a second thought. She wrapped her arms around the other jade and kissed her full on the lips, closing her eyes and ignoring the smoke-taste that covered everything.

Even when she broke the kiss, Lynera wouldn’t let go. Didn’t want to let go. Didn’t want to risk seeing her kismesis die. _I guess that’s what we are now, isn’t it?_

Daraya sighed and leaned on her, letting her weight sink down and muttering softly. “I’m here… I made it… at least I made it.”

The bronze blood wasn’t there — Lanque was there. Daraya was there. Elwurd was there. But Skylla the bronze blood with the easy smile wasn’t. Skylla, who she’d called pretty and told what she and Daraya had done together. Why? She supposed that particular secret would never get out.

Somehow, that made her feel sad inside.

She held onto Daraya. She would go help Bronya in a minute — go help tend to the wounded with her matesprit. But for now, she was going to hold Daraya and be grateful that she hadn’t had to say goodbye just yet.

* * *

Alternian orbit - 0214 AUT

Tyzias was still holding Stelsa’s hand and looking into her eyes. She’d never realized before just how much she needed this — how much she cared about this one, singular person. That was probably the trauma talking… but also, Tyzias didn’t especially care. They were both alive. Whatever happened next was going to happen… but it was going to happen to both of them together.

“Zizi…” Stelsa breathed out, and her eyes glistened behind her glasses. “What do we do now?”

Tyzias shrugged and she could feel the exhaustion pulling down at her. “I don’t know, Stels… find someplace to land and try to get in touch with someone who can help us find the jade bloods?”

“No, I don’t mean that. I mean… what do we do with our lives now? Our entire world… it’s gone.”

Tyzias started to respond, but then stopped. Everything they’d ever known was burning. Their home, their careers, and their ideas about what constituted Alternian society. People were dead — a few they knew, and hundreds of thousands that they didn’t. The entire world was, in fact, gone.

But that wasn’t true. Tyzias looked into Stelsa’s eyes… and an entire world was there within.

“Whatever we can, Stels… we do whatever we can.”

* * *

Polypa was starting to drift off — she’d already set the course for the shuttle. They’d set down in the Southern Wastes… somewhere outside the usual drone flight paths. Between that and the ID attached to the Fleet escape shuttle, they would at least be able to get on the ground safely. After that… after that things would get more difficult, but at least they’d be facing it knowing exactly what was going on.

The ferret lusus had been released from his restraints and curled up in Polypa’s lap. She stroked his fur gently… absently. She’d never really gotten a chance to know Tagora Gorjek, and she wasn’t sure she would’ve liked him. But maybe in the end he’d been able to find some peace with who he was. It was an idle thought — one that vanished as soon as she had it.

In front of her, the gentle curve of Alternia loomed large as the shuttle automatically swept along in orbit, finding its course. It would be hours before they could land… hours she had to spend inside her thoughts.

consumateprofessional111 began chatting with tegsuoShima at 0215 AUT

Polypa

hey * tegiri *|   
i just want you to know *|

i’m okay *|   
i’m gonna be okay *|

She slipped the palmhusk away and leaned back in the shuttle’s crash seat. She’d talk to Tegiri later. She’d talk to a lot of people later — and about important, meaningful things. She was sure that the days to come would be filled with a great many meaningful things.

Polypa closed her eyes, and she drifted. And as she slept, she dreamed of a purple-spired world of endless towers. A world she’d never known.

A world where hope still lived.


	52. Overture for a Dying World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all my amazing readers for sticking with me through this journey! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> -Jonaya

the last day…

The 606th Sweep of Her Imperious Condescension (2nd of the Name)

There was a time once, many sweeps ago, when she could still remember her name. There was even, if her faded memories still served her at all, a time when she wasn’t alone. Those times were long past — she wandered the empty halls of the caverns alone, listening to the ghosts of echoes of a past that had long since gone by.

She started whenever she found that she couldn’t sleep anymore — and it was never the same time. A schedule was something she’d stopped keeping when the last of the others went away, long before she’d forgotten who she was. A schedule was, after all, only important as long as the ones who considered it important were still there to keep it. She woke from her slumber, pushed herself from the recupercoon, and shrugged on a robe that was long-faded with age. If it had once been made of brightly colored fabric, any sign had long since been worn away in the cycle of countless wearings and mendings.

Something familiar stirred in her as she looked around the room, as it always did. Something about the arrangement of the furniture, or some faint, lingering scent of a memory from before. A small chalk board — a thing she hadn’t uttered the word for in five hundred sweeps — sat on a shelf in the corner like a small shrine. On it were written words that she couldn’t read anymore.

The drinker’s curse had kept her alive — but it hadn’t preserved her mind the way she’d thought it might. Hundreds of sweeps devoid of the company of others… devoid of any real way of keeping herself occupied outside of the daily routine… it had born down on her mind in a way she had never been prepared for. Preserved her body almost perfectly — she still looked the same now as she had when she was thirty sweeps — but the intellect required more than simple preservation to prosper.

But this had been what she wanted, wasn’t it? Somewhere in the faintest corners of her mind, there was the sound of someone begging her not to do it. Someone telling her that they would find another way — hadn’t they _always_ been able to find another way? And in that same corner of her memories, she was there as well… saying that it would be fine. To trust her, because she had many sweeps of experience now. Because she knew what she was doing. And that first voice became very quiet, but then agreed that it was for the best.

There were other memories buried in there as well — memories of tenderness and gentle moments together. But now, everything faded together in a way that she couldn’t see clearly anymore. Once, she’d taken so much comfort in those memories… lived in them, practically. That had kept her going for a long time — longer than she’d thought possible, even.

But, in the end, it hadn’t mattered. A hundred sweeps had passed and it had been perfectly fine. Two hundred was tolerable. Three hundred unbearable. Six hundred and six was torture for every waking moment of it.

She stretched — she had no physical pain to speak of. Still spry and limber after sweeps — more so even than she’d been before becoming one of the drinkers. And the rumors of needing to feed constantly had turned out to be lies. For a time, there was someone who had helped her, she thought. Someone who had let her indulge herself in a way that kept them both satisfied. That memory still held some sway — had some small purchase in the vast tomb that was her mind.

But that person was gone now.

She walked down the stairs of the cavern from her chambers, passing rooms marked with symbols that meant nothing to her now. They still had some vague power to compel a feeling in her, but the overall meaning was lost. She paused at one that had a two-pronged circle on it and stopped to touch the symbol. That one had stayed for a long time, she thought. As long as she’d been able.

She continued down the stairs, and on her right there was a small stone shelf with a series of smooth stones set on it. Each of them was carved with another symbol — another marker that had once had meaning. She couldn’t remember what the meaning was — only that it had something to do with the ones who had helped from afar. The ones who had kept the fires alive for as long as they were able.

These meant little to her now — the symbols had lost their meaning hundreds of sweeps ago. One still tugged at her mind — a mirrored design that resembled a pair of opposing bladed spades… traditional weapons of the ancient jades. This was information that stuck out in her mind for reasons that she no longer knew. There was something about that symbol in particular — about who it represented. Tears formed in her eyes and she sniffled loudly to herself as she ran a finger over the smooth rock — worn down by the countless times she’d done the same thing.

Continuing downward, she finally came to the bottom level of the caves — to the pool of specially-treated sopor that housed a single egg and nothing more. She knew her daily routine by muscle memory at this point, and she carried it out as she had for an eternity. It didn’t take long — checking the temperatures and ensuring that everything was how it should be. Naturally occurring minerals in the cavern rock kept the egg in stasis… and it would remain so for as long as it needed to be. Any other way of doing things had faded from her mind long ago.

With her task done, she returned back up the stairs. Once again, she stopped to touch the same faded stone, feeling the outline of the symbol etched in it and crying once more. It was, she thought, one of the few times she felt anything anymore.

Finally, back to her room. And before she entered, she stopped to look at the door.

There were two symbols there, side-by-side. And these called to her in a way that none of the others did, in equal measure. One of them was a simple, rippling line that curved up and down and up and down again. It had an old, familiar quality to it.

The other looked like some kind of winged beast of legend, and the mere sight of this sign brought her fully to tears. She bent over and sobbed quietly in the hallway of the cavern — one of the few indulgences she made towards making any noise anymore.

The memories _wanted_ to come flooding back, but those memories had dried up so long ago. Instead, all she was left with was a tremendous feeling of loss and pain that washed over her and left her shaking up against the side of the doorway. There was _so much_ pain there — pain that had never taken its leave of her.

Somewhere in the distance of the caverns, something shifted. Something close to the entrance.

She came alive all at once, her heightened drinker’s senses honing in on the disturbance and her reverie momentarily abandoned. She would deal with the threat first, then return to what traces of memory she still had left.

The years might have taken so much of who she was, but they’d traded it for abilities that would’ve seemed the work of pure imagination in the past. She moved with complete silence and impossible speed to the head of the caverns. From the blinding blaze of light coming in from outside, she could tell it was during the day cycle. Fortunately, there were many advantages to being a drinker, and a complete immunity to the Alternian Sun was one of them.

Crouching low and keeping to the shadows, she slunk forward until she could see the source of the disturbance.

Someone was in the entrance to the cavern. They wore a heavy traveling cloak dyed the color of a rust blood’s attire and walked nearly as quietly as she did.

“I know you’re there,” the stranger said quietly — but she could hear it clearly even from a distance. “It’s okay — I’m not here to take your egg.” The voice was soft and a little bit musical — playful… but solid.

And, for the first time in hundreds of sweeps, she opened her mouth and spoke. “Who are you and why have you come to this place?”

The Stranger shrugged their shoulders. “I’m here because I need to be here. At this specific place, at this specific time, talking to you. Specifically.” A laugh followed it, then a kind of gasp. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t be making jokes. I know you’ve been through _so_ much to get here. If it’s any consolation, it hasn’t been for nothing.”

She growled. “You haven’t answered my other question. Who are you?”

The Stranger shrugged. “Does it really matter? I’m here to tell you what you need to do. And I know who you are — I know about the endless cycles you spend tending to that thing down in the cavern. I know about the purposeless eternity your life has become. You don’t even know what a desolate hellscape this planet has become since the young Empress took the old name of her position, accepted her destiny as the Condescension, and left on her quest for eternal conquest. A planet ruled by drones and wigglers.” The Stranger shrugged again. “Sorry, I got carried away.”

Without hesitating, she lunged forward with all of her considerable speed. She didn’t know who this person was, but she knew that they were a threat to her last remaining charge. They were something that needed to be eliminated.

The Stranger raised a hand casually and she couldn’t move forward. As much as she strained, she was frozen in place.

The stranger shook their head, and beneath the hood she could’ve sworn she saw a pair of horns and the twinkle of two bright eyes.

“No, you’re going to listen to me,” the Stranger said. “Because there’s something you need to do. Something that closes the circle.”

“Where are you from?” she asked, straining against the force that was binding her in place. “Who are you from? The Empress?!”

The Stranger shook their hooded head. “I’m from the end of time… at least as far as you’re concerned.”

“That doesn’t make sense!” Her voice was starting to come back after all these sweeps.

But the Stranger stepped forward — close enough that she could see their face clearly. And something inside her mind clicked into place.

“It doesn’t have to. You’re going to go to sleep, and when you wake up you’re going to go start preparations to hatch the egg you’ve been keeping safe all these sweeps. And you’re going to get ready to raise a grub… finally.”

“That’s all?” She strained once more against the invisible bonds. “And what then? Wait for her to be culled?! Wait for the Empress to sense her presence and return?!”

“You’re going to go to sleep in a few minutes, and then you’re going to understand. I just had to be here to close the circle, like I said.”

* * *

She wasn’t sure when she’d gone back to her quarters. That happened, sometimes… she would lose bits and pieces of time. She fidgeted with her faded robe nervously and glanced over at the chalkboard on its place of reverence on the shelf. Something seemed subtly different now, and she didn’t have the words for what it meant.

Instead, she crawled into her recupercoon and sank down into the sopor. And she did the one thing she had become most skilled at over the sweeps — she sank down and closed her eyes to forget for a few hours more.

* * *

When she woke, she wasn’t in her quarters and she wasn’t in the caverns. She stood on the streets of a vast, purple-hued city of shadows. It was impossibly large — stretching in every direction and above her in a towering vista. Everything was different — even her clothes were different. No longer wearing the faded robe, she was instead clad in robes of deep violet.

She could remember.

Her life.

Her friends.

Her lovers.

Her name.

She fell to her knees and began crying — the deep sobs of someone who has just realized for the first time just how much they’ve lost to come to this point in their life. The heartfelt regret of someone who had lived a full and complete life full of the people they loved. Of someone who lived a good life… and then kept living. Kept living sweeps beyond the last of their companions finally returning to the dust they’d come from. Kept living beyond even the memories of their own memories.

For a long time, she cried. And when she was done, she stood up and began to walk down the street. She had no idea where she was going, but something compelled her to continue. There was a tower in the distance — and she was drawn to the tower.

As she walked, she passed unfamiliar people on the street. Not just unfamiliar in the sense that she didn’t know then, but in the sense that they were completely alien to her. With deep black shells dotted with white eyes, they watched her curiously as she passed. But none of them seemed to think that she didn’t _belong_ in this place. And, strangely enough, she didn’t feel like she didn’t belong there either.

Before she even realized, she’d reached the tower. Inside, a wide spiral staircase led up into a shadowed central column. She began to walk up the stairs, taking them one at a time.

After what felt like a half an eternity, she reached the top of the tower. There was a small chamber inside — a room furnished with a four-post bed that looked like something that belonged in the room of an Empress… or an Heiress.

The bed was empty.

_But it won’t be for much longer._

She didn’t know _why_ the thought leapt into her mind, unbidden, but once it was there it wouldn’t leave. She felt sharper and more alert than she had in hundreds of sweeps, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would retain that clarity when she woke — if this truly was a dream. It was hard to tell. It had so many qualities of a dream, but with an undertone of reality that was impossible to ignore.

She looked at the bed, letting her eyes drift up… and she saw the symbol etched in the wall above it. It was painted a bright fuschia, and even though she’d never seen it before in her life… she recognized it

She fell to her knees, and for the final time she began to cry. This time, the tears of anguish at the lost past were mixed with tears of relief — of the sense that her life hadn’t been purposeless after all. The sense that, at the end of all these things, there was still one last thing to be done.

So, after a dozen lifetimes, Lynera Skalbi looked up at her destiny… and she knew exactly what she had to do.

the first night…

**Author's Note:**

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